


Bury A Friend

by bigskoot



Series: Obey Me: Books of the Dead [2]
Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Betrayal, Biblical Themes (Abrahamic Religions), Canon Rewrite, Canonical Character Death, Disturbing Themes, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone curses, F/M, Fictional Religion & Theology, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Jealous Mammon, MC is a Chaotic Empath, Original Character(s), Sexy Solomon, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:14:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 22,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25517878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigskoot/pseuds/bigskoot
Summary: Part Two!MC and the other students of Devildom await the next arrival of their old enemy. Time to hold up defense in the castle but...What is Lord Diavolo hiding?Where is Shokujinki?Can anyone be trusted?This is a living Hell!--**comments welcome ;)**Part Three! Sick Thoughts is out!
Relationships: Main Character/Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Main Character/Solomon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)
Series: Obey Me: Books of the Dead [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907002
Comments: 22
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

Lord Diavolo stands center, in the main entrance of the House of Lamentation. The room, filled with ancient paintings of the brothers, and demons before, cover the walls. He looks on at the top of the two staircases, the door leading to the rest of the house. The journey to his castle awaits the students and he's more than happy they'll all get to go together. He knows that Shokujinki could've made most of them, especially the humans, prey, but now that he was aware of his presence, he was determined to never let the demon get within a hundred meters of his beloved underlings. _I've worked too hard_ , he thought to himself as Barbatos opens the side door, entering the room.

He turns his head to him, "Barbatos," he booms joyfully, arms crossed and towering over the smaller servant, "I do hope you're looking forward to this educational opportunity."

The servant nods, "of course, sir."

Diavolo smiles, speaking quieter this time, "it's nice for us to all be together, isn't it? We all have to rely on each other in this trying time." He places a hand on his demon's shoulder, "we have a duty to our students, Barbatos. I entrust that you will make sure they'll be no unwanted guests during their stay."

Barbatos smiles.

"Of course, sir."

The doors at the top of the stairs swing open. It's Lucifer first, a single suitcase in his right hand. Upon seeing his superior, he speaks, "ah, Lord Diavolo, have you been waiting? Hopefully, not too long."

"No, no," Diavolo laughs heartily, "I'd only just arrived. Two weeks is a long time away from home, so I figured the lot of you needed some time to gather your things."

"Hm," Lucifer continues walking down the steps. _The others are probably still getting ready,_ he thinks, "Lord Diavolo," he says in a hushed tone, "have you gotten any information on the whereabouts of Shokujinki..?"

The demon's smile fades, a grave look overtaking his face, "no, I'm afraid not. I have scouts all over Devildom currently and they are to report back as soon as even an inkling of suspicion comes up. There's only so many places he can hide."

Lucifer nods and looks off, _I'm not surprised that he's back all these years._ His hand clenches and his brows furrow, _what could he be plotting at this moment? Is it fate that will lead him to our downfall?_

"Lucifer," Lord Diavolo snaps him out of his trance and he looks to him, "it will be alright. We've handled it before. We can handle it again."

The older brother raises a hand to his chest, his eyes widened, "have we cornered ourselves? Are we to blame if," he stops. The thought of his brothers perishing before him was too much. He couldn't handle anymore heartbreak but death seemed to follow him. The death he saw in himself when he turned away from his Father. The death he had seen as an angel, his sister. The death he saw in Shokujinki's eyes that fateful day.

Diavolo raises his voice, "Lucifer."

The demon closes his mouth, he knows what his superior is going to say. He takes a deep breathe and regains control of himself. His weariness quickly dissipates when he hears the footsteps of the others.

Beel is quick to open the door and props it open for MC, who's decided to take a suitcase and a backpack of essentials. She notices the demons downstairs an waves with her free hand, "oh, hello Lord Diavolo," she says, "Barbatos, Lucifer; you're all ready?"

Lucifer nods, "of course."

Beel continues to keep the door open as he hears more footsteps. The angels enter the main room as MC descends to the bottom. The smaller one, Luke, seems determined to calm his nerves as he walks down the stairs, his face sweating slightly. _It might be from lugging that suitcase though_ , MC thinks, now finally at the bottom of the stairs, standing just off to Lucifer. She looks up at Beel, who's eating a candy bar, expression bored as more brothers shuffle in. It's Satan next, who's practically dragging Leviathan behind him, yelling about not being able to take all his Rurichan figures.

"We don't have time to go back and get them, you're not fitting them all in your bag anyway!" Satan pulls on his hoodie harder, practically choking the older brother.

"Gah," Leviathan throws his hand up to the collar of his hoodie, trying to pry it away to get some air, "okay, okay, fine! Just let me go!"

MC smiles wearily. At least she had the demon brothers as company. Their aloof attitudes gave her some comfort. Despite Lord Diavolo being so gravely serious, she put her trust into him as a leader, and imagined that this probably wasn't the first time they had ever dealt with a matter so significant and foreboding.

Asmodeus steps through the threshold next, carrying an assortment of bags and suitcases.

Lucifer calls to him, "Asmo," his eye twitches, "you don't seriously plan on bringing all of that with you, do you?"

He laughs loudly in response, seemingly strong enough to carry all five bags down the stairs with ease, "brother dearest, you obviously haven't lived the last thousand years with me!"

Solomon comes through the doors next. MC's heart flips and she's flustered as to why. He looks perfectly normal as always, but for some reason she feels nervous knowing he's about to walk down the stairs. Her eyes shift around the room, hoping he didn't notice her staring at him for a moment.

Out of her peripheral, she can see him walking down towards her, "MC."

She turns her head and looks up at the sorcerer. Her emotions shift as she notices his hand on his side, "hey, are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh," Solomon realizes why she asks, his hand still glued to his side, "yes, I'm fine. Just a little bruised is all. That magic user threw me out of the portal pretty fast," he laughs but winces at the strain in his breathes.

"Ah," _the magic user_ , she thinks, realizing she still hadn't told him about what really transpired in the forest. _Hopefully I'll have some time on the trip_ , she thinks.

Beel finally moves from the door he's propped up, already starting on his fourth candy bar. He walks along the stairs and places himself just behind MC and Solomon. She turns around and smiles, "are you excited to go to the castle, Beel?"

He nods contentedly, "I'm excited for all the food we'll have while we stay. I heard they get Hell's Kitchen to cater when guests are over!"

"Is that expensive?" She asks, thinking over the economics and logistics of Devildom. She never really understood how things were funded around here. _If Lord Diavolo was a future king, I guess this is technically a monarchy then._

Solomon reaches out and puts a hand on her shoulder, "you're thinking too hard again, MC," he says with a cheeky smirk, "didn't your mom tell you if you make faces for too long, they'll get stuck like that?" He moves his fingers to her cheek and pinches her.

She swipes away his hand, a blush growing quickly on her face, "Shut up, you idiot." She places her hand on the spot he pinched.

From atop the stairs, she hears the door open once more. Everyone is distracted by conversation to notice Mammon emerging and finally taking a step down to the first floor. He looks lost in thought until he puts his head up. They lock eyes from across the room and a spark of electricity fills his veins. _Ah_ , he's just happy to see her again. She smiles warmly and waves, "hey."

He saunters over with his suitcase in hand. She seems like she's the only one in the room right now. 

"Mammon, your shoe is untied," Solomon says pointing at his feet.

The second oldest snaps out of his trance, wanting to bark back at the sorcerer but he feels himself trip over his laces. His descent to the ground takes less than a second and now he's face down on the floor. Solomon smirks.

MC gasps and comes to his side, trying to help him up, "Are you okay? You really ate shit, dude!"

Mammon's face is red with embarrassment and he doesn't let her get closer to him, "I'm fine, I'm fine! I'm indestructible, ya know?" He brushes himself off, shoving his way into the middle of MC and Solomon. He pouts and crosses his arms, feeling stupid for being so clumsy. He could've sworn he tied his shoes earlier! His eyes glance over at Solomon, who's looking away from him. His hand still by his lung, except now it was slightly glowing. _Did he untie my shoes?!_

Lord Diavolo walks to the center of the room and faces the students. Everyone's conversations hush, Mammon peels his thoughts away, and they eagerly await for their leader to speak. MC hadn't noticed before, but they were all arched around a massive circle that was fixed to the ground. Some kind of metal template, embedded into the flooring, symbols strewn about it. It looked similar to the small glimpses of symbols she had seen on Solomon's arms. It reminded her of when she was first summoned to Devildom, a symbol with vague resemblance splayed on her floor as she was teleported.

"Alright," he begins, arms crossed and standing proud, "as I have said before, we will be staying in my home for two weeks. Once we arrive, everyone will be assigned two roommates for the west wing of the castle. Is everyone ready?" The demon brothers around her step forward onto the giant symbol, Lucifer taking lead and standing beside Diavolo. MC watches Mammon place his feet onto the floor and turn his head to her, "c'mon, what are you, scared?"

She balls her fists and steps next to him, "no!"

Once everyone's feet touch the ground, the large circle begins lighting up below them. She flinches and feels unsure about what to expect next. Mammon looks over at her, sensing her unease and leans down. She looks up at his face, now much closer than usual. The light dances off his irises, "do you want to hold my hand?"

She blushes and looks away but shyly confirms as she places her hand inside his. Electricity fills the air and it's like the first day all over again. A huge boom from Lord Diavolo from the center and suddenly she's blinded, the feeling of falling overtaking her. She wants to scream but she can still feel Mammon's hand grounding her. She pulls herself closer, and grabs onto his arm. Then, her feet are on the ground again and the room around her fades into view. She looks down and the same symbol is on the floor.

She gasps. MC looks up and sees the glimmer of gold first. She thought the House of Lamentation was big, but Lord Diavolo's castle dwarfed it in comparison.

The great hall was decorated in gold and red. Tapestries woven delicately, strewn across the ceiling and walls. The ceiling high, a painting of various demons above them as if mimicking the sistine chapel. MC couldn't help but ogle at the room around her, completely forgetting she was clutching tightly to her friend's hand and arm.

Lucifer's voice focuses her attention better and she unfolds herself from Mammon to his disappointment. The feeling of his empty hand unnatural, so he shoves it into his pocket.

"Let's all remember this is an educational trip as well as a retreat from the House, so I expect you all to be on your best behavior. As Lord Diavolo said, you'll be placed in rooms with two other roommates during our stay. Barbatos," he gestures his hand out, "would you like to read the names off?"

Barbatos curtly nods, a scroll magically appearing out of thin air in front of his face.

"Lucifer, you are requested to stay in Lord Diavolo's room."

"What?" Lucifer deadpans.

Diavolo pats his back heartily, "of course! I requested you stay in my room for many reasons!"

Asmodeus giggles uncontrollably, "Oh my, Lucifer and Lord Diavolo in the same room? They're going to keep each other up all night!"

Leviathan takes his phone out and begins tapping it furiously, "LOL, Lord Diavolo and Lucifer sleeping in the same bed tonight! Prepare your anuses! And send-" the brother's face is smashed into the ground by Lucifer's foot, "Delete that, you crass idiot!"

Barbatos clears his throat behind them and continues, "Leviathan, Beelzebub, Luke; you will all be staying in Room B."

Luke sighs and puts his head down in defeat.

"Simeon, Asmodeus, MC; you will be sharing Room C."

Mammon groans, "ah, what? Seriously?"

She looks over to Asmodeus. She hadn't really talked to him since staying but she knew that Solomon was one of his acquaintances? Friends, maybe? _He was certainly confident in his looks_ , she thinks, looking in his direction. Her eyes peer over to Simeon, _ah, the pretty one_. She was at least excited to get to hear him talk, _his voice is so soothing_ , she thinks dreamily.

Mammon elbows her in annoyance, "hey, what the hell are you drooling about?"

"Wha- nothing!"

"Solomon, Mammon, Satan; you will be in Room D."

Mammon chokes, "What? No way! Can't we trade rooms?"

Solomon's expression is unchanged, his smile soft on his face, "This should be interesting."

Lucifer takes his foot off of Leviathan's head, his attention now to Satan and Mammon, "You two better not cause any trouble, understand me?"

Satan laughs gruffly, "As if we would ever want to make you mad!" The sarcasm dripping from his words.

MC puts her hands on her hips and shakes her head. _This is gonna be a long stay._


	2. Chapter 2

Asmodeus unlocks the door to their new room. He flips on the light and sighs, "well, not as big as I would've hoped for but I guess I've said that a lot in life."

The room was moderate size with three beds lining the walls; one right, middle, and left of the entrance door. One door to the right of the middle, a large bathroom and the door to otherside, a closet. There was even a desk near the closet against the leftmost wall.

Asmodeus springs forward, claiming the bed to the right, "now, I have to be closest to the bathroom, MC," he begins, unpacking all of his clothes and accessories at lightning speed, "I have about three hours of prep time before I can begin the day and at least three hours at night for bedtime."

MC nods, almost certain that she will end up strangling Asmo by the end of the day. She throws her bag on the bed and kneels down to open her suitcase of clothes.

Asmodeus continues on, running back and forth between his bed and the closet, "I'm positive I'm going to need all the closet space as well, I hope that's alright with you, beautiful," he smirks, winking at her.

MC sighs, eyes half lidded and unphased, "yea, that's fine."

Simeon sits on his bed curtly, taking in the surroundings of the room. A painting hangs above every bed, "I wonder if these were gifts to Lord Diavolo," he says offhandedly, smiling to himself, "I've heard some of the paintings in his castle are haunted."

"Woah, haunted? Spooky," she says. _Gah, he's so precious_ , MC's heart squeezes as she looks at his pleasant smile. _He's a good soul, the best, really_ , she thinks to herself, happy that she gets to be around someone so radiant with pure wholesomeness. Not that the other brothers weren't, but Simeon, especially, had an aura of nicety. _He is an angel after all_ , she thinks.

She looks over to the demon brother, still walking back and forth _. Staying with Asmodeus will hopefully improve my chances of making a pact with him,_ she thought to herself, remembering her deal. She furrowed her eyebrows thinking of Belphegor. _Had Lucifer said anything to him before they left? Or was he left alone, in the dark about the happenings at Devildom?_ She stands up, stretching her arms above her bed, _everything is so messed up_ , she thinks.

Asmodeus surprises her by grabbing onto her waist, holding her in a tight hug, "gotcha!"

Her heart stops, her face as red as his lips, and her hands fly fast to his face, pushing him off of her, "what the hell is wrong with you, huh! Get off of me!"

The demon giggles maniacally as MC struggles, "you're so much fun to get worked up, you know that? You're just like Mammon!"

She stops shoving, "huh? Just like him?"

Simeon chimes in, unphased by Asmodeus' antics, "you two do seem to share a lot of traits with each other," he says as he crosses his legs, his chin resting in his hands, "it was a good idea for Lucifer to pair you two together!"

"Even the grumpy faces you make are the same," Asmodeus giggles one last time before letting MC go from his grasp, only to return to hug her around the neck, cooing and petting her head, "you're so much cuter though! And, you don't bite like Mammon does, he's so nasty sometimes."

The only other brother who was remotely affectionate with her was Beel and the sudden closeness of Asmodeus was making her slightly uncomfortable. _He means well,_ she thinks, annoyed. She unfurls herself from his arms and flops on her bed, beginning to sift through her bag, "if I'm Mammon, then I'm at least the more responsible version of him."

The demon puts his hands on his hips mockingly, "responsible? Feels like every time I see you, you're in trouble!"

 _Ah, he's right though_. Over the last few months, she had Leviathan attack her over a trivia game, Lucifer grilling at her multiple times, especially for peeping in the attic, being the catalyst of Beel destroying the kitchen and her own room, and on top of all that, even without Asmodeus knowing, she felt responsible for the Shokujinki being able to return to Devildom. She wanted to throw a smart comment back to him but her heart wasn't in it. She felt bad.

"You're right," MC says, holding still, "I'm sorry for causing so much trouble," her eyes cast down.

She doesn't notice the gleam in the demon's eye. Asmodeus kneels down, both of his hands on her knees, his face only a few inches from hers, "hey," he says quietly, "don't worry about it."

She blushes madly and shoves him back. He laughs fully and goes back to putting his things away, still making comments about her face. Simeon's eyes follow her features, as if he was looking for something. She feels his gaze and looks over to him, but his face is already turned away.

_Huh, that was weird._


	3. Chapter 3

Cobblestone lined the castle walls, the students voices echo off in all directions. Barbatos takes the lead. The first tour being held without the company of the future king. MC looks around the large hallways nervously. There was something cold and offputting about Lord Diavolo's home. Somehow, it managed to be in stark contrast to his personality and she expected more rooms to look like the dazzling, golden great hall.

Paintings line every wall, a plaque lovingly placed under every piece, a moment in history. Barbatos remarks that the castle was built long before Lord Diavolo had even been conceived. _No wonder it feels so impersonal_ , she thinks. All in a group, she walks beside Mammon, her appointed babysitter now ascended to friend. As the butler speaks, she looks over to Mammon who's nervously glancing around in all directions, his hands shoved into his pockets. She smiles knowing he's only a scaredy cat when it came to dumb things like scary movies or spooky happenings. A devilish idea creeping into her mind, she smiles even wider. She faulters her footsteps back just slightly to get behind him, watching him intently. He hadn't noticed.

Solomon catches her looking around suspiciously and locks eyes. She lifts a finger to her lips, her smile creeping across her face. He smirks, _how naughty_. He watches from a distance as MC holds her hands up like claws and digs them into the sides of Mammon, " ** _RAHR_**!"

Mammon screams.

Then Asmodeus screams.

Luke is jumping into Simeon's arms, screaming.

Leviathan screams, his phone flying from his hand.

Lucifer whips his head around, yelling at Mammon, "what the hell is going on back there?!"

MC laughs hysterically, their voices shrieking across the castle.

"MC!"

\---

As their tour ends, the groups of brothers and angels split off for lunch into the dining room. Beelzebub makes a b-line to the table and starts shoveling food on his plate. Mammon walks in with MC, his arm around her neck, playfully in a headlock.

She laughs, struggling to walk forward as he holds her, "Mammon! Let me go! I said I was sorry!"

His face burns as he lightly taps her head with his fist, "well, you better keep saying sorry!" Once he gets to the table, he finally let's go of her, her hands immediately going to her hair to fix it. The demon plops down in the chair with huff and crosses his arms, still annoyed by her antics. _I'm_ _not_ _a scaredy cat! That was a battle cry,_ he thinks to himself, stewing in his own embarrassment.

She sits down in the chair next to him, her face still amused by the whole ordeal, "oh, don't pout," she says, taking some food from the middle onto her plate. The table was filled with different dishes and MC wonders how long it must've took to prepare, "are you hungry?"

Mammon looks away from her, his eyes upturned to the ceiling, "no." She reaches towards him and places a hand on his shoulder, "hey, I'm sorry, okay, I won't do it again," her voice with a hint of remorse.

Mammon freezes at the small touch, not sure how to react. He puts his hands up, shrugging, "gah, it's fine, it's fine. Don't sound so pitiful, jeez." She pats his shoulder, giggling, "yay! Welcome back!"

As everyone takes their places at the table, Barbatos stands in attention at the head of the room. All conversations fall silent as their eyes look eagerly towards the butler.

He puts his hands neatly behind his back, "this evening, we will be inviting all demonic bureaucrats to the castle. As you know, it is of upmost importance to find Shokujinki, and with the help of said demonic parties, our search should be shortened. However, this is a time to celebrate our wellness as well. In Lord Diavolo's words, 'it's not every day we see old friends.' As such, we will be holding a small party afterwards and the exchange students are welcome to mingle."

Satan, furthest away from him, raises his hand, "excuse me, but is it safe to invite so many demons in one place right now?"

Barbatos looks at him through dull eyes, "Lord Diavolo has gone over the preparations extensively since last night. The barrier up between the castle and Devildom is most sufficient, but thank you for your concern, Satan."

Solomon folds his hands together, his mind wandering to think. He glances at Simeon. Then to MC and Mammon. His gaze following down back to Barbatos. Dissecting every piece of information their faces and bodies could display. _Demonic rulers here, in the castle tonight? A perfect opportunity._

\---

His work desk is cluttered with papers. Lord Diavolo runs a hand through his hair, "Barbatos, another cup of tea, please."

The butler nods, walking away to fulfill his master's order. Many years spent grabbing another cup, over and over, until his leader would finally decide to get rest. But not tonight. A meeting between every demon ruler of every district, even some scouts from the Rings of Hell were going to be present in a few hours.

"Reports are so scattered. They're saying he's in South Devildom, then North Devildom," Diavolo leans back in his chair, his hand under his chin, "I need a straight answer. Hopefully this get together will shed some light to those who've yet fully understood the situation at hand."

Barbatos nods and walks over to his desk, placing the saucer and cup at the corner, "shall I begin preparing dinner, sir?"

Lord Diavolo quickly snaps his hand to the tea, drinking it in one gulp. He sighs, letting the cup back to the saucer, "yes, that'll do just fine. How many more hours do I have?"

"Three, sir."

"Thank you, Barbatos."

As he hears the door click, Lord Diavolo let's out a breathe he didn't realize he was keeping in. Folding his arms, his eyes scan the papers on his desk, listening to the sound of his grandfather clock ticking. _Why are the reports so boggled? Sightings all around Devildom_ , he thought to himself. He had only given a few calls out to some scouts he had in each district to tell him if they saw the Shokujinki. It was easy enough that he was known throughout the lands but with the varied statements, his mind wanders to the possibility that his enemy might've already acquired some kin to help him. Impersonators certainly help confuse the ones looking for him.

A single drop of sweat drips down from his forehead. _Time was precious._

\--

The smell of sulfur fills his nose as Barbatos opens the great hall. A careening of demons summoned by Lord Diavolo envelope every square inch of the large room. Lucifer stands by his side, watching him make idle chatter with the Western Devildom witches. The other brothers casually make their way around the room, some stopping to catch up with old friends. The butler saunters around the crowd, all parties know The Shokujinki is here in the realm, his eyes peruse the room carefully, _perhaps an impersonator is here right under our noses._

MC shakingly cracks the door to the great hall, a glimpse of a massive beast startling her and reeling her back. She didn't know how Solomon could do it, being able to waltz right into an open room of demons. Large ones, small ones, but more importantly, ones that didn't look human. She shivers. _The hallway is too cold to stand out here all night,_ she thinks. With a sigh, MC walks back to her room.


	4. Chapter 4

MC sits quietly in the room, her hand grazes the picture frame above her bed. All of the paintings in Diavolo's castle were beautiful but this one in particular, she had an eye for. A field, looking much like one in the Human Realm, the lilies gently danced into the grass and the sky was painted blue, much unlike Devildom's darker hued skies. She put her arm back down and tucked it underneath her legs, cradling her knees to her chest. With the arrival of the party guests, she couldn't help but shake how many of them looked like the demons she had read about in horror stories. They were obviously more polite and civilised than how they were depicted but their appearance still gave her a fright. She felt bad. She didn't want them to think she was some kind of bigot.

MC could hear the sound of merriment even from the second floor. The walls weren't as thick as she would've thought but it wasn't the noise that bothered her. The laughter was a nice replacement from the constant bickering of the brothers and her intrusive thoughts. Even over the chattering, she swore she could hear Lord Diavolo laughing boisterously. She smiles softly to herself.

For the first time since Mammon and Beelz's movie night, she felt a warm, safe feeling bubble in her stomach. Knees still up to her, she lay her cheek against them and closed her eyes, letting the feeling wash over her.

A knock on the door snaps her out of contentment and she doesn't speak until she hears a voice.

"Hello?" _It's Solomon._

She gets up and opens the door swiftly, Solomon sure enough, standing in the hallway, his hand still up from knocking. He's in his sorcery attire; the long flowing cape behind him and tassels dangle from his shoulders. He looks surprised that she opened the door and she laughs, "what's with the face?"

He returns back to his norm, a gentle smirk, "for once, I'm surprised you're alone in here. Figured Simeon would've opened the door."

"Simeon? Is he not at the party?"

"He left briefly so I thought he came back up here," Solomon shrugs, "oh well."

MC quirks her eyebrow, "are you looking for him?"

The young man shakes his head, "no, no, it's alright," he glances behind her before looking back down at her face, "would you mind if I came in?"

"Oh," she apologizes briefly before letting him step into the room, closing the door behind him. She suddenly feels very strange in her pajamas in front of him.

He stands in the center of the room, his cape coming off and thrown onto her bed, "I'm sure you're pretty used to people barging in without asking," he chuckles as he walks over to the desk by her bed and seating himself in the chair, his hand returning to the place on his side.

She walks back over to her bed, and resumes her position, arms tucked under her legs and knees pulled up to her chest, but this time she's facing Solomon.

"Yea, I've resigned to the fact that I'm basic everyone's mom," she laughs. Not that she didn't mind the company.

Solomon plays with his cuffs before unbuttoning them, beginning to roll them up above his forearms.

She speaks as she watches him, "why aren't you downstairs?"

"Ah, I just got bored. As much as I love learning about the delicate intricacies of demonic politics," he finishes the last roll, and places his hands in his pants pockets; his sitting pose relaxed, almost tired, "I do prefer being with someone that isn't a hundred thousand year old crony droning on about why Lord Diavolo should fund the 6th Ring of Hell."

She laughs, "sounds miserable! Are you sure I'm not a demon though? I'm at least a few thousand years old."

His eyes gaze at her softly, "no," he says quieter than she expects, "you're no demon. If anything, you're probably an angel."

She blushes, flustered by his flirting, "shut up! If I'm an angel, big man upstairs has a lot of explaining to do. I don't think angels are supposed talk like I do," she chuckles to herself, referring to her constant cursing, "could you even imagine Simeon saying any curse? He would die."

Solomon smiles at the thought, "we should try to make him say something. That would be hilarious."

"No way! I would feel so bad, he's so sweet," she grins, knowing she'd still probably follow Solomon's plan if he had one.

The beat in the air as he closes his eyes to think gives her a moment to change the subject, her gaze deeply entranced by his arms, "hey, what are those anyway?"

"Hm?" The sorcerer opens his eyes once more, realizing she's staring at his tattoos, "oh, they're sigils."

"Sigils?"

"Mhm," he nods, before getting up and walking towards the bed to sit next to her. She let's her legs down and prays he doesn't notice the redness of her face.

Solomon holds his arm out so she can see the symbols better, "there's many different types of sigils, but most of them are for protection. Without these, the skin on my arms would've been burnt off."

She remembers Sebastian's hand close up to the portal. She wasn't sure in the moment what exactly he had done, but realizing Solomon could've been seriously hurt gave her a small pang in the stomach.

"I'm sorry." She says, eyes cast down on his arms and his chest.

"It's fine," he says rather matter of factly, a short breathe still hurting his lung. His smile is still soft on his face, "I'm glad you're okay."

 _Ah_ , she looks up at him, _he's so handsome_.

Her guilt snaps her back to reality, hands clenched to the side of chest in determination, "I have to tell you what happened in the forest!"

Solomon looks surprised, her words taking him aback, "oh! Okay. It did seem like you were trying to hide something when you brought it up at the table."

She nodded, her eyes turning down to the floor remembering everything that happened.

"Sebastian, my ex, was the magic user that grabbed me," she starts, rubbing her fingers on her hand, back and forth in a nervous fit, "he had never practiced magic before so at first, I couldn't even believe it was him. He said he was going to sacrifice me to the Shokujinki. I don't know why. But I did see him, that demon, I mean. He tried smacking me around but I heard this voice, like a woman," Solomon looks at her intently, his elbows resting on his knees, trying to see her expression despite her facing towars the floor, "I don't know how, but I followed the voice down and I got this feeling in my chest. Like how I would imagine a powerful sorcerer would feel... and then I called for Mammon."

Solomon remains quiet as she continues. 

"He, uh," she squeezes her eyes close and puts a hand up to her face, "he killed Sebastian, and the Shokujinki ran off." Her hand left her face and she opened her eyes, still fixed to the floor, "when I woke up, I found his body," tears finally welling in her eyes, "and then I walked back."

MC wipes her face dry, not wanting to share more emotional dread with Solomon, with herself. She'd prefer shoving all those feelings down in hopes to move on. She can still feel his eyes on her when she glances over to him. He looks down towards the floor. _Maybe this was a bad idea._

"I haven't told anyone except for you. Mammon is the only other one that knows. If Sebastian helped the Shokujinki get here, it might be that he's not very strong right now, why he was looking for a sacrifice."

Solomon closes his eyes and puts his hand under his chin in deep thought. She gave him some time to think everything over, her heart lightly thumping in her chest. He finally opens his eyes slowly.

"Alright," he says quietly, "I have to tell you something then."

She's even more anxious then before, waiting for what he's going to say to her.

He looks at her face, his eyebrows furrowing to the center, "whenever Sebastian used his destruction spell to blast me to the other side of the portal, I had a feeling it sounded familiar," his eyes stare deeply into hers and she has a hard time tearing them away, despite feeling slightly uncomfortable, "I checked an old book of spells that my sensei had given me when I first began learning and it was the same incantation, word for word."

MC tilts her head, feeling underwhelmed by the new information, "but I thought magic was like that? Isn't there just a standard list of spells you learn?"

His expression grows weary, realizing she had no clue about the magic world, "do you think we have some kind of encyclopedia of spells?"

She blushes, embarrassed, "I don't know! I never knew any magic users!"

He sighs, leaning back against his hands on her bed, "while there are universal spells that many sorcerers know by heart, for the most part, the incantations, the way their written or said, can depend on teacher to teacher. My sensei specifically taught me the one that Sebastian spoke however. That means only two things," his head turns to her and the intense gaze is back, "Sebastian somehow by coincidence, learned the exact same spell from my dead sensei; or, there's another pupil out in the Human Realm who's teaching spells."

She furrows her brows, "If Sebastian learned from that sorcerer, would he know about the Shokujinki?"

Solomon bows his head down, "you said he hadn't learned magic until you left, which is probably when he met Shokujinki. Can't imagine he would want to pair up with a non-magic using human unless he was willing to learn or dumb enough to follow him. And I doubt he's here with only one reinforcement. You didn't see anyone else?"

MC shakes her head.

He sighs and sits up, back to leaning his elbows on his knees. The constant switching of positions, his nervous habit when he doesn't feel quite comfortable, the strain on his side making it worse, "of course, this is all speculation."

MC hums and crosses her arms. She could hear the noise of demons still bustling downstairs. _How many people did Shokujinki bring with him? How many demons will be on his side against Lord Diavolo?_

Her cheek gets pinched, knocking her out of her thoughts, "hey!" She grabs her face, watching Solomon chuckle to himself.

"Sorry, I can't help it! You always looks so cute when you're concentrated."

She pouts, rubbing the side of her face. _He's such a kid sometimes, I swear_. For a moment, she recalls his wordage in their conversation, "hey," she begins, taking her hand off of her cheek, "you said 'sensei' when talking about your teacher. Are you from Japan?"

Solomon smiles, "well, yes, I am. Could you not tell before?"

"The white hair isn't a very good tip off."

He laughs, "I guess that's true!"

He doesn't continue the conversation and she's left wondering if she should keep asking questions. MC sits on the bed with Solomon, suddenly realizing she barely knows anything about him.

"Solomon," she sounds more serious than she means, looking at his tattooed arms, "why did you get into sorcery?"

"Why are you so curious?"

She looks up at him, his eyes concerned. He looks confused. Genuinely confused by her wanting to know more about him, and she wants to ask him everything, but settles on repeating her question, "why did you learn to become a sorcerer?"

He smiles plainly at her, his answer coming too quick, "what kid doesn't want learn magic?"

"No," she says simply, her eyes transfixed into his. _Why would he lie now?_

"Why won't you tell me?"

He smile falls slowly and it becomes harder to hold her gaze. His face is grim as it turns away from her, his eyes drawn straight forward. The air in the room is tense and now she's determind to know the answer. It wasn't the time to hide secrets. His thoughts are racing but his answer comes out nonetheless.

  
" **I like that you look at me like I'm a good person.** "

  
She opens her mouth but the door is swung open, Mammon standing in frame drunkenly, "MC! Wha- Solomon! What the hell is this clown doing in here with you? You better scram, alright, that's my human!"

"Mammon," she springs up, yelling retorts, "you asshole, didn't Lucifer teach you to knock on people's doors before barging in?"

"Lucifer doesn't know shit! What's with the snake? I already see enough of his face staying in the same room with him!"

She turns back to Solomon briefly, the dark look on his face gone as he grabs his cape, "Mammon, you certainly look like you've been having fun, hm?"

"Oi, oi," he steps towards him, much to MC's dismay as she tries to push him back, "that's The Great Mammon to you, alright?" The demon inches closer to Solomon's face, sizing him up, "or would you rather me beat it into your skull so you don't forget?"

Solomon's eyebrow twitches, a dastardly smile across his face, not backing down from the demon, "I'd love to see you try to hit me just as I'm sure Lucifer would love to see you strung up by the heels again, Great Mammon."

MC throws a pillow, hitting both of their faces with a poof. They turn their heads to see a rather annoyed MC with her hands on her hips, her words gritting through her teeth, "are you both done?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Huh? We're doing another tour?" MC sits up from her bed to look at Asmodeus.

He smiles and nods before twirling in front of these mirror, seemingly looking himself up, "that's right. We'll be going to the center of the castle tomorrow, aren't you excited?"

"Yea," she says unenthusiastically, "I guess so."

"Hm?" Asmodeus turns his head to look at her, "why the long face?"

She darts her eyes away, thinking of Solomon's words from the night before, "it's nothing, just tired."

Asmodeus throws his hands on his hips, "oh, please," he struts over to her bed and sits beside her, his hand going straight to the top of her head, "it's those boys, isn't it?"

"Boys?"

"Oh, don't play coy," he says laughing to himself, his fingers delicately moving some hair out of her face, "those two white haired devils. You've really got a type, you know."

She waves his hand away, scrunching her eyebrows, "it's not like that! They're annoying half of the time anyway."

The brother slinks back, resting on his hands, a smile across his face, "a lot of women are attracted to annoying men, MC."

"Shut up, Asmo," she chuckles, mirroring him, "I thought you wanted Solomon for yourself, you know."

He throws his hand back in a laugh, "oh no, honey, no. He's too much of a tease. He's a beautiful man though, I was more than happy to get into a pact with him."

MC springs forward, "what? You're in a pact with Solomon? Since when?"

"Why? Jealous of me? Or maybe, jealous of him?" Asmodeus licks his lips but her hand is pushing his face already.

"Shut up."

Her hand reels back and he continues, "it only took him a few weeks to be honest. He's an incredibly powerful sorcerer for being so young, he's practically a prodigy," Asmodeus swings himself off of the bed, going back to his mirror to mess with his hair and skin, "a few demons around the school had told me he had more than seventy pacts already so I had to see him for myself."

MC's eyes widen, her mouth agape, "over seventy? Seriously?"

"Oh yea, he's quite unyielding."

She looks to the floor, suddenly feeling extremely odd, _over seventy? Why would he get so many?_ Looking back, she had only been in Devildom for a month and a half or so. Shaking her, head she pulls herself away from her thoughts, too tired to do the math.

MC's eyes glance over to Simeon's bed. She hadn't noticed for some reason, but he wasn't there. Realizing how late it was, she quirks her eyebrow. She looks over to Asmodeus, who's readying himself into the bathroom, "gonna take a little dip and wash this filth off from today. You're welcome to join me!" He winks and closes the door.

She makes a face and grabs her D. D. D. from the bedside table.

MC:  
「psst」

Mammon:  
「What?」

MC:  
「are you busy」

Mammon:  
「No. I'm walking around.」

MC:  
「lol trying to get in trouble?」

Mammon:  
「Oi, they never said I couldn't.」

MC:  
「where you at? i'll come with you!」

Mammon:  
「Center wing. I'll meet you at West wing doors downstairs. 」

\---

"Psst, over here," she hears Mammon's voice quietly through the still castle air. The candlelight coming from the halls are enough to see the ground but the corners are tucked away in darkeness. He's calling her from the doorway, motioning her to get to the other side. She hurriedly shuffles her feet and walks through. Mammon closes the door behind her, close enough for her to smell his shampoo wafting off of him. She feels her face getting red, _glad it's so dark in here_ , she thinks.

"Big place," Mammon whispers nonchalantly, sticking his hands in his pockets.

She looks up at the room in front of her. A huge circular room, curiously built with columns surrounding it, made of stone bricks and smelling of fire. She wonders if it's the lingering scent of the demons that were in the castle. Almost like a spotlight, the moon shown from a window on the ceiling, right into the middle of the round floor.

"Yea," answering back to Mammon. Her eyes move slowly, taking in the room and atmosphere. She was surprised the brother would want to walk around here with him being so jumpy. Scanning the room, she can't help but shiver. The castle itself is ancient but in the dark of night, it looks practically abandoned. She takes a small step forward, a tap on the stone. _The moonlight looks pretty at least._

She takes another step and another until she realizes she can't step any further or she'll fall. Embedded into the center of the floor, she sees a staircase spiraling downwards into the depths of the floor. MC hesitantly looks over the edge.

"Oi, be careful," Mammon hisses, grabbing her arm, "don't want you to go falling on me now."

MC backs up from the staircase, "where does this go to?"

Mammon shrugs, "the hell if I know. Probably to the basement where Diavolo keeps all of his slaves."

"I hope you're joking," she says in a low voice. Unlike the halls, the welcoming light of candles aren't present along the staircase. All she sees is a pitch blackness bouring into her soul.

She slowly walks around to the entrance of the first step.

Mammon follows behind her, a frown on his face, "you're not going down there, are you?"

MC furrows her brows, "hm."

"You gotta be kidding me."

She turns her around to him, a snarky smile on her face, "what are you, scared?"

A vein in his head pops, "fuck you."

She giggles at him. Looking back at the stairs, the descent down did look pretty scary by all means. Her body moved forward, determined by curiosity to at least see what's down in the bowels of the castle.

Mammon, hush, walks behind her, his hand against the wall for balance.

Once out of the light of the moon, her eyes begin to adjust to the caverness spiral into the floor. A giant hole bouring down around the stairs, she was amazed by the sheer structure, only a stone railing in between them and a long fall. Through the darkness, she could make out doors lining the bottom walls of the floor below.

Her eyes flicker.

_Is that..._

She grabs Mammon, pulling him down to crouch under the rail. He almost yells, but she throws a hand over his mouth. Her palms already sweaty with adrenaline.

She motions for him be quiet, her heart suddenly racing out of her chest. His face grows serious as she points her finger to the other side of the rail. They both peek over the edge. Mammon sees what she was trying to hide from.

Deep down in the dark chambers underneath Lord Diavolo's castle, they can see Simeon's back turned away from them towards one of the wooden doors. _He must've not heard us_ , he thinks as watches the angel intently.

From a distance, it's hard to make out his body language but just as quickly as they saw him, he had opened the wooden door and walked into the darkness.

They duck back down under the stone. MC's expression grave, as they both look at each other. An unspoken confirmation to leave.

_What's Simeon up to?_


	6. Chapter 6

Mammon and MC walk back to the rooms of the west wing quickly, praying Simeon won't pop up behind them.

"That was Simeon, wasn't it," he asks in a quiet hiss. Their pace faster as they rear the stairs to their rooms.

Her fists are balled, apprehensive of the entire situation.

"Definitely. I was wondering why he wasn't in our room so late at night. What the hell was he doing down there?"

"Probably nothin' good," Mammon says. As they reach the top of the stairs, his movement stops and it's a second before MC notices. She turns around, looking at him, bewildered.

His hair covers his eyes and she can't make out his expression, "there are plenty of rumors about this place but the one I can't shake," she hears his voice quiver slightly, "the dungeons below the castle. It was a joke between me and my brothers but I've never been so sure about what's actually down there." The way his voice shakes scares MC more than anything. She's too far away to reach him and at this point, too convinced he might be on to something to comfort him.

"Mammon," she says softly, "c'mon. We have to tell Solomon, is he in your room?"

The demon comes back from his thoughts and whips his head up, "what? Tell Solomon? No way, that guy is a fucking snake! How do we know he's not up to anything either?"

MC steps up to him, "shh, would you keep your fuckin' voice down," she purses her lips and continues, "I told him about what happened in the forest, all of it, okay? He's not going to rat us out, I trust him." Her last words waiver in her mind. _I trust him. I do, don't I?_

Mammon rolls his eyes, "sigh, fine."

She turns around, hoping no one heard them.

\---

Solomon lays in bed, one of his arms resting behind his head. While it was refreshing not being in the school uniform all the time now, it had made him realize how little clothes he had brought from the human realm. _A black tshirt and grey sweatpants, truly a model of modern fashion_. His mind continues to wander into plans of buying a new wardrobe here in Devildom, ignoring the sound of Satan's page flipping and the knocking at the door.

Satan sighs and gets up, seeing as his roommate pays no mind to the incessant bangs. He opens the door, "yes? Oh, hello, MC."

She's taken aback, forgetting that Satan had roomed with them, "oh! Hey, Satan, what's up?"

"I could ask you the same," he sees Mammon behind her and moves out of the way to let them in. Solomon is already sitting up, elbows resting on his knees, his smile keen on welcoming them.

"Well, you know," she glances at Solomon nervously as she enter the room, "just here to say hi to my friends."

Satan pays no mind to her glance as he goes back to his bed to sit down. The sorcerer gets the clue and looks over to the blonde.

"Hey, Satan," Solomon says, bringing his hand up to point, "aren't you getting tired?"

"Huh?"

A small light beams from Solomon's pointer finger like a bullet and into the brother's forehead. Satan's eyes grow dull and heavy. MC and Mammon watch him wobble in place before completely following over off of his bed and smacking his face right into the floor in front of them. 

Mammon gasps and runs to him, lifting his shoulders off the ground, "what the hell! What the hell did you do," he says, holding his brother in a panic.

Solomon frowns, almost a pout brushed his lips, "well, that wasn't how it was supposed to happen."

MC looks at Satan. _Ah, he's asleep!_

Mammon heaves his brother back onto his bed, his head bouncing off the pillow, a snore escaping his lips.

The sorcerer's eyes are half lids, just looking at his roommate, "hm. I was hoping he'd fall backwards onto his bed but I guess your brother's head is pretty heavy."

"You sonofabitch! I'll kill you!" Mammon shouts, holding his fists up dramatically as if he was going to fight.

MC sighs, chiming in, "Mammon, sit down, you idiot."

The brother huffs, walking back over to MC and sitting on the ground next to her. He crosses his arms and legs, "okay, okay, so he's asleep, right? Good, cause we gotta talk."

"I figured," Solomon says dryly, annoyed by the mere presence of the demon.

MC sits at the edge of Mammon's bed towards her friend, "we saw something really weird and wanted to run it by you."

Solomon's ears perk up towards her, his eyes softening, "go on."

"Mammon and I were walking around the castle and happened to end up in the center. There was a huge stone platform and some stairs that led down to the bottom of the castle, but," she swallows nervously, speaking quieter to him, "when we went down to check it out, we saw Simeon go into one of the doors. We didn't follow him but it looked suspicious so I wanted to tell you."

Solomon's soft gaze turns cold, something feral behind them and suddenly she feels uncomfortable with his stare. He doesn't say anything for a moment, "Solomon?"

Suddenly, he's back to his aloof self, "well, I guess we'll have to figure out what he's doing down there."

MC nods nervously, an unhinged air about Solomon she's only noticed a time before. His words echoing in her head again.

_"I like that you look at me like I'm a good person."_

_He helps us_ , she thinks to herself, feeling guilty for doubting him. _He might not think he's a good person, but I do._

She stands up, startling Mammon on the ground.

"Tomorrow," she says full of fire, "tomorrow, we'll find out what Simeon is doing down there."


	7. Chapter 7

The tour goes as planned, a journey around the center of the castle. Lord Diavolo is absent once more, attending to the serious matter of the whereabouts of the Shokujinki. MC balls her fists. She doesn't want to cause any attention to the stairs of the castle but she's curious to see what Barbatos will say about them. The group continue down the hall until they finally reach the stone room. In the light, it looks much like a coliseum to MC. The columns coming down around them, the light from roof's ceiling center in the room. She looks over to Mammon. His arm comes down around her shoulders and she flinches, his face now close to her ear, "hey," he breathes out, "don't look so angry, eh? You want everyone to start worrying about you?"

 _Ah._ She releases her hands that were tightened before. The tension in her shoulders falling, "sorry," she whispers, not sure if she meant it to Mammon or to herself for stressing out.

He smiles cheekily, arm still around her, "idiot."

She smiles back, feeling like he always knew when to be lighthearted. She wonder if he feels like she helps him ever.

Barbatos at the front of the tour stops them near the center of the room, gesturing his hands out, "this is what used to be the old great hall before Lord Diavolo expanded the castle. Every new room is an additional part of the castle as all old ruins and buildings remain in contact out of respect for the Demon King."

Her eyes dart over to Simeon, his face expressionless as he listens. She tries finding any of the slightest movement or change in his demeanor but the angel is unmoving.

Barbatos begins to walk them out into the next part of the tour.

He says nothing of the stairs.

MC looks over to Solomon.

 _Tonight_.

\---

Satan rubs his head in agony, "man, I must've drank too much last night or something."

The three students are all in their room together, the night drawing late. Mammon lays in his bed, his feet up on the frame as he busies himself shuffling a deck of cards on his chest. His hands quickly work, his brain on auto pilot, remembering all the casinos he'd played suckers at. _I miss the good old days_ , he thinks, remembering what mess he had gotten himself into with the two human exchange students.

Solomon thumbs another page of a book he had found on one of the castle tables, waiting for MC's signal.

A few moments go by before he checks his phone, a text message popping up, giving the go ahead for their plan. He didn't want Satan to be suspicious of them, but using another sleeping spell might put the demon into a coma. Solomon swings his legs to the floor and stands up, stretching the arm that isn't under his healing ribs.

"I'm going to get something to eat, I'll be back," he says before pulling his shoes on and walking out the door.

Satan, too late, puts his hand up, "no, wait," he whines, "ah, my head."

Mammon takes the initiative and stands up as well, sighing to his brother, "Satan, what would you do without your dear older brother?"

The blonde doesn't have the energy to joke back and groans again, "my head is killing me."

"How about this," the brother smirks, his body leaning over Satan's, "I'll get you some medicine but you owe me, deal?"

He sighs, too in pain to argue this time, "whatever, just hurry up."

"No promises."

\---

MC steps out of her room, slowly closing the door behind her. A small click and she feels in the clear.

She walks down the stairs to where she met with Mammon the night before and sees the two men standing apart. The whole situation suddenly coming to light, she feels her nerves shake all over again. With sweaty palms, she stops in front of them.

Mammon puts his hands on his hips, his yellow tinted glasses left in his room; she can see all the glint of color and emotion in his eyes, "took you long enough."

She scowls, "I had to wait for Asmodeus to go to sleep this time! He kept asking me why I was staying up so late, okay?"

Solomon pushes himself off the wall he's leaning against, "you said it was just down the center stairs, right?"

Pulling her attention away from Mammon, she nods her head, "mhm."

"Let's stop wasting time then," he says seriously. She can see a moment of the same feral glint in his eyes before. Hesitantly, her and Mammon watch him open the doors to the stone room.

Just as yesterday, the moonlight is shining to their destination.

The group walk slowly to the stairs. MC was smart enough to wait a few minutes after Simeon had left so that they wouldn't immediately bump into him. _Here's to hoping he's actually down there_ , she thinks.

Mammon nervously steps down first, peeking his head over the railing down to the dark floors of the castle. The same wooden doors line the walls, but one is ajar. He turns back around to tell them, "oi, same door as the night before, MC."

She nods, "okay, let's go."

They step further down the stairs until their feet finally touch the bottom.

"It's dirt," MC remarks quietly, feeling the texture beneath her shoes.

"Curious," Solomon whispers. He looks back up towards the stairs to the top. They're far away from any help and natural light. The sorcerer turns back to his acquaintances.

Mammon steps towards the open wooden door and looks inside. His eyes have yet adjusted completely to the dark but he can hear small drops of water dripping onto the ground in front of him. No sound of footsteps can be heard despite how silent the rest of the area seemed to be.

MC speaks behind him, "are we going in?"

Mammon shivers, feeling a cold chill on his spine, "I guess so."

The students are too focused in front of them to hear Solomon step up and take the lead, his form standing in the dark hallway, "c'mon," he says calmly.

\---

The walls are bare, cold, and wet, claustrophobic and cramped; a complete contrast to the rest of the castle so expansive and delicately shown with paintings. The darkness becomes suffocating and Mammon flicks a lighter on. Solomon seems to agree as he let's him keep it on. Furthering down the hallway, the passage begins to feel smaller until the group walk up to a steel door. It's barred and thin, the steel somewhat rusted.

MC whispers, "did Simeon really walk all the way down here?"

No one answers. Mammon gulps as he watches Solomon push the door open, creaking from the rust.

Stepping in with the lighter, he can see the hallway is rowed with more steel barred doors, "a prison of some kind," he questions quietly, nervously looking around.

MC walks behind them, also looking around at the rooms. _It's hard to see inside of them_ , she thinks, not being able to make out anything recognizable as they walk.

Solomon stops walking abruptly and Mammon walks into him, scaring himself, "what the hell? Why'd you stop-" he pauses.

The room in front of them is larger than the others, but all the same in its structure. Stone walls and a dirt floor, but the opening is now missing it's prison cell doors. Debris and dust scattered around the room, but in its center, they seem him through Mammon's light.

Simeon, sits on his knees in the center of the room. They can't see his hands and he doesn't move.

Solomon steps to him first, the other two following close behind. He speaks so coldly that MC doesn't recognize his voice, "what are you doing down here?"

Simeon jumps slightly, not realizing he had been followed. He turns his head slowly.

His eyes are peaceful, his smile as friendly as ever, "well, hello, you surprised me."

MC squeezes her hands. _Why is he so calm?_

She speaks up behind Solomon, "what are you doing down here, Simeon?"

His eyes widen in confusion and he begins to stand up. In a blink, Solomon puts his palm to the angel's head. A sigil on his arm glows dimly, and his eyes bore down into Simeon's. 

"Answer us."

A silence passes them. The sound of water droplets hit the floor.

"I'm praying."

His soft voice cuts through the tension, but Solomon's hand doesn't move.

MC stutters, her hand up to her chest, "w-what?"

Simeon, realizing the danger he might be in, continues calmly, smiling as he does, "I'm praying. Praying for all the souls here."

The students say nothing. Mammon's lighter flicks around the room and his eyes adjust to the prison cell they were in. He gasps, his face frozen in fear.

MC looks at the walls. _They were wet with..._

"This isn't a prison," she says slowly, dread creeping in her lungs, her stare fixated on red, "this is a torture chamber."

The once darkened room had readjusted to all their eyes. Solomon looks up. The figure of a decayed skeleton shackled to the wall before him. The blood on the walls still fresh and dripping. He reels his hand back from Simeon's head, his eyes wide.

Simeon, smiles sadly, his knees still to the floor. Despite the dirt and blood, he pays no mind to the dishevelment of his angelic uniform.

MC speaks to him, still scanning the room in horror, "why would you pray to them? Aren't they already damned? Why is it like this," she asks, looking at the fresh blood.

"Their souls might be damned for eternity," he looks over to the skeleton he was kneeling to, many other shackles line the walls beside it, "but I'm hoping this can ease some of their pain. No matter the place a human ends in, they were always a child of the Father. Unfortunately, their pain lingers down here and manifests tangibly."

MC feels the tears prick at the corner of her eyes. _This whole time. This whole time I thought Simeon could've been an enemy_ , she thinks solemnly. His voice so genuine and kind, she shakes her head, feeling ashamed.

Mammon, still too in shock, let's the lighter run burn out, leaving them in the cold darkness, surrounded by death.

She lifts her head up to Simeon, "I see..."

Her voice trails off, disturbed by the imagery in front of her.

Everyone is shaken.

Solomon's eyes are still fixed on the skeleton behind Simeon. Without saying a word, he walks around the angel to the wall. What used to be a man, was no more than dry bones at the bottom of Lord Diavolo's castle. He furrows his brows as he moves closer to the remains. Looking around at the death in front of him, his eyes hyper focus in on the skeleton's hand. A ring still wrapped in silver around his finger. The sorcerer carefully pulls it off and examines it.

Simeon stands, a sadness still lingering in his eyes as he looks to Mammon who hadn't said anything since they found him.

MC steps around them, drawing closer to Solomon, "it looks like it hasn't been used in a while. At least there's that."

Her eyes shift to his face.

Her stomach drops.

His eyes are wild and fearful. She can see his hand, gripping tightly, his fingers digging into his palm. She can sense a rage growing from the sorcerer that frightens her to the core. His voice quivers.

" **He was down here... the entire time**."


	8. Chapter 8

" _Solomon_?"

He turns his head to the voice.

His older brother, hair as white as his own, about eleven years old, is hunched over at his side, his hands on his knees, "what are you doing?"

Solomon, only six, opens his tiny hand; a grasshopper in his palm, "I found him. He didn't have any legs."

"Well, that's too bad," his brother says casually, standing up straight. The young boy looks back at the grasshopper, unsure of what to do with it, not wanting to leave it alone.

"Boys," their mother calls from the sliding back door, "come back inside, it's going to rain!"

"Leave it," his brother says before running towards their small house. Young Solomon takes one last glance at the grasshopper. He carefully places it under a leaf and follows his brother's steps back inside.

Just on time, the rain begins to pour, the older brother quickly waving his hand for Solomon to get into the house before he uses his whole body to push the door closed. Their mother shakes her head from the kitchen, her hands on her hips, "don't track your shoes in here, Nathan."

Solomon's brother, Nathan, sighs, kicking his sandals off. Solomon, already barefoot, rubs the dirt from his soles onto the rug. His mother speaks again, pouring soup into their bowls, "set the table, your father is coming home soon."

"Yes, ma'am," he answers back, pouting.

"I'll help," his younger brother says enthusiastically before grabbing place mats off the kitchen counter.

From the front entrance, the door chimes and opens, "hello!"

"Ah, good evening, honey. Welcome home," their mother yells, placing the bowls of rice and fish on the table. As their father puts up his hat and coat, the two brothers set their tableware down, Solomon running straight to hug his father's legs.

"Well, hello boys, how was your day? Hopefully you didn't terrorize your mother, hm," he says glancing at Nathan. He folds his arms, "no, sir."

Solomon continues hugging his leg excitedly, "we missed you!" Bringing a hand down, his father pats the top of young Solomon's head and smiles, "I missed you too," he says calmly, "now let's eat!"

Taking their places at the table, the family join hands, a common ritual in the household. Solomon's father breathes in deeply before praying aloud.

"Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name; thy kingdom come; thy will be donein earth, as it is in the celestial plane," Solomon peeks his eyes open, a habit his mother had tried discouraging. He watches his father pray for a moment before looking over to his brother. His eyes are open.

_He looks angry..._

"Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," he closes his eyes again, not wanting his mother to scold him, but feels a faint squeeze from Nathan. He smiles.

"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever."

"Amen."

\---

Nathan and Solomon sit on the wooden floor of their upstairs room, the sound of the parent's shuffling about the house below. The soft paddering of rain taps against the windows. A chess board in front of them, Solomon watches the next turn, biting the inside of his mouth. He sits cross legged, but when Nathan is done, he lays down on his stomach, eyeing the pieces at ground level.

"Do you think that's gonna help?" Nathan asks dryly.

"It helps me think," Solomon says, looking through the chess pieces like he was one of them.

Nathan rolls his eyes, "sit up and look at it from the top, Monsolo."

His brother pouts, "don't call me that," he whispers, heaving himself up to look over the board.

His brother continues, "stop trying to look at just my side and what I'm gonna do," he looks in his eyes, sternly, "you have to make your own decision, your own plan. You've already seen all the moves I like to make, so now it's your turn to find the moves you like."

Solomon groans, dramatically throwing his head back, almost on the verge of tears, "you're too smart, I'll never win."

"You're such a crybaby," Nathan says, crossing his arms, "just give up then."

Solomon's face contorts, about to cry loudly, until his brother hurls himself over the chessboard, knocking over the pieces, and pushing his hand over his mouth, "hey! I'm sorry, okay, don't cry! We'll do something else!"

The younger brother's tears streak down Nathan's hand, but his stifles when an idea pops up in his mind, his eyes suddenly lighting up. Seeing this, Nathan takes his hand off of his face, sighing in relief, "thank you."

"I want you to show me something," his tiny voice sounding as serious as it can be.

"Huh," his older brother looks up and into his eyes, unsure of what he's talking about.

Solomon looks at the door then back to his brother, small hands balling up, "I saw the trick you did for Koya."

Nathan grabs Solomon's shirt collar and pulls him towards his face, "you didn't see anything," his voice cold, a tone he's heard many times.

"I won't tell mom or dad," he pleads quietly.

His older brother is silent, planning out when exactly and how exactly he'll make it happen without anything going wrong. _If my parents found out..._

"Fine," he says, shoving Solomon back to the ground before getting up and walking over to his desk chair, "after everyone is asleep."

\---

The light rain, turned thunderstorm, crashed around the house. In the late hours of the night, Nathan sits in Solomon's bed. The smaller boy shakes as he hears another crash.

The older brother is fiddling with an object in his hand, trying to find a good position on his finger. Once he's happy with it, he stops, and lifts it in front of his younger brother's face. A ring, too big for his tiny fingers.

With a quietly stern tone, he speaks, "I'm gonna show you once, but remember, you can't tell anyone. Not mom, and especially not dad, okay?"

Solomon nods with a glint in his eye, already mesmerized at the ring. It's nothing very special, a simple silver band but a small circular symbol carves into it and wraps around.

Nathan brings his finger down from his younger brother's face and hovers his hand over his other hand, a few inches in between. He says quick, small mutterings. A light dimly glows from the carvings of the ring and in between his hands, a dazzling display of stars. Shining off of Solomon's face, he peers into the magic, awestruck. The stars dance and mingle in and out of the small space. Too entranced by the lights, he doesn't notice his brother's gaze turn solemn.

"Hey, Solomon..."


	9. Chapter 9

" _Hey, Solomon?_ "

The sorcerer blinks.

MC calls for him again, her figure bent over and hands leaning on her knees, "Solomon."

As he raises his head, he sees a skeleton chained to a stone wall. He's confused; unsure of where he was. _What did MC want? Where's Nathan?_

"Yes?" He answers, looking up at her concerned face.

"Are you okay?" She asks, but she knows he's not prone to spacing out, "did you find something?"

The sorcerer blinks again.

He looks into her eyes, realizing where he is. _The castle. The bottom of the castle_. He looks to the skeleton again and forces himself to forget his brother for the time being.

Looking back down at the ring, he smiles disingenuously, unbeknownst to MC, "I thought I had found a ring with Shokujinki's insignia but I was mistaken. I'm afraid I scared myself for a moment," he says, amused with his own lie.

MC, still partially unsure, replies, "oh, okay. Jeez, you scared me," she says faintly before turning back to Simeon and Mammon, who has now composed himself enough to speak.

The demon looks at the floor and straightens his jacket, "sorry for thinking you were down here causing trouble," he says, his voice now confidently returning.

Simeon smiles, "quite alright, I certainly understand the suspicion. Nice sleuthing," he holds a thumbs up at MC, making her feel a bit better about their reckless mission. _What could they've done if Simeon really was plotting in the shallow belly of the castle_? Her heart is thankful another night can be shared with friends.

With the silence growing stronger, the group begin to walk back down the corridor.

Solomon takes one look back at the chamber.

The ring in his hand is heavy.

He shoves it in his pocket and walks away.

\---

Sleep doesn't come quick for Mammon. Once he and Solomon had made it back to their rooms, the sorcerer didn't speak to him and instead turned over on his bed, presumably to fall asleep, leaving the demon brother alone to his thoughts. 

His eyebrows are knitted with weariness as he sits on the edge his bed, head in his hands. The overwhelming feeling of dread boiling up in his stomach and chest. He thinks he's going to throw up but it passes quickly when he hears the human call to him in a hushed tone. He looks up at his roommates bed and Solomon is now turned to him, sitting up, criss cross atop his blanket. His eyes, though just mortal, pierce through Mammon's and a horrible feeling begins to rise again.

The sorcerer, hands in his lap, speaks sternly, "did you know?"

"No," Mammon frowns and looks to the floor in front of him, his emotions betraying him as he struggles to keep his tough guy persona up.

Solomon's face softens and he feels bad for asking, "sorry. Just checking."

"It's pretty fucked, huh," the brother says sadly, "it happens every where in Devildom. 'Lot of stray humans wander around and end up in pieces." 

Solomon quietly looks on at Mammon.

"It's not like it's anything new," he turns his head to the wall, saving his expression away from the human, "violence and whatnot. Guess I," he pauses, remembering Diavolo. His demeanor and his grace when he took them in with open arms. He felt foolish. Even if it hadn't been used for some time, the dungeons were there, just as his brothers had always joked about.

_And MC had to see it with her own eyes._

"I guess I forget what we are," he says, trying to hold back the tears he feels in his eyes, "I forget why humans hate us so much. Why we had to have this shit done in the first place," he bats his hand up, frustrated and referring to the exchange program.

Solomon's eyes cast to the floor, smirking to himself, "I didn't think you could be so contemplative."

The demon, amused, blows air through his nose. He smirks, hearing the snark in the sorcerer's comment.

Solomon looks at the back of his head and smiles, his words coming out careful and concise, "what you are is only what you make it to be, Mammon," the demon winces and turns to look at the human curiously. Their eyes fix on each other, "you aren't as bad as you or your brothers make you out to be." He smiles sheepishly at his own words, "demons are inherently sinful, just as humans are. If anything, I feel like we have a lot in common that way."

Mammon furrows his eyebrows and turns his head away bashfully. A small utterance under his breath, "thanks."

Solomon returns to laying on his bed, turning away from the demon once again. Mammon takes the queue and does the same, glad that his brother, Satan, was a heavy sleeper. He stares at the wall; one of Diavolo's great paintings above it.

A memory drifts into his conscious. An image of a girl. Small and warm in presence, his sister, Lilith, danced playfully around the clouds. He sees his brothers in the distance. Lucifer, elegantly clad in white and blue, his smile peaceful and serene. Beelzebub, only up to his chest, tugs at his cape, asking for something, Mammon can't remember. His minds eye hazily moves through the memory. A dark haired brother is seen through the tuffs of clouds, running to Lilith.

 _Belphegor_.

Mammon opens his eyes.

Sleep doesn't come quick for him that night.


	10. Chapter 10

The afternoon in the dining hall was bustling with the students talking amongst each other. Most of them sit at the table, just beginning to eat while a few have already begun. Leviathan huffs frustratedly at Asmodeus, "of course he decided to show up just as I was going to pick up my new game! You know how long I've been waiting to play The Holy Ghost of The Wicked House?"

His brother rolls his eyes, "if you spoke english, I would feel so bad for you right now."

"You don't get it!" He yells dramatically and looks over to MC across from him and points, "you understand, don't you?"

She perks up from her food, "huh?"

Leviathan sighs, "you weren't even paying attention were you? I had a game I was trying to get and because Shoku showed up, I couldn't play it," he cries as he slumps his head to the table, "it's not fair."

Satan, on the other side of him, raises his fist and jabs the top of his brother's head, "Demons are dying, Levi. Wouldn't kill you to show some respect," his cadence more annoyed than serious, trying to shut his brother's infernal crying.

MC looks back down at her food, her utensil twisting and turning out of it. A _lot of demons were dying, huh_ , she thought to herself, _if the Shokujinki was as powerful as everyone said he was then he must have followers who trust his power... and ones who don't._

Mammon sat beside her, his eyebags indicating the lack of sleep. His head drooped up and down, eyes fluttering open and closed, she wondered if she should bother him.

His brother, Beelzebub, seemed to notice as well. He had gotten up to grab another plate when he noticed the concerning look on MC's face. Tip toeing over to their chairs, he smiles warmly to MC, gesturing her to follow him as he waves his hand.

She takes the queue and glances to Mammon, who's still nodding off. She chuffs and gets up.

\---

While the castle was shrouded in a protection spell, the outdoor courtyards that were used as passageways and gardens were still open to the students after being deemed safe. The hallway Beelzebub and MC walked down led to one of these openings; the hallway wall splitting off into a circular pathway around a large oak tree. The gardening around it pristine and well taken care, two small stone benches by its center.

Moved by the beautiful outside sight, MC stepps out onto the pathway as the demon brother spoke from behind her, "ah, here it is!"

She turned to him and quirked her brow, "were you looking for this?"

He smiles, the corner of his eyes up turning in delight, "yes! I heard you got in trouble back at the House for going out to the villa because you were bored; so, I wanted to show you this and maybe, you wouldn't feel so bored here too," he chuckles and rubs the back of his neck.

Her eyes sparkle and she smiles back to him, sweetly, "Beel! You're too kind!"

He takes his hand from his neck and points forward to the benches, "let's go sit over there."

As they made their way to the center, MC could feel a gentle breeze in the air. _For once, it didnt look as gloomy outside_ , she thinks to herself sitting under the large tree, looking up at the sky above her. She squinted trying to see if she could make out the spell's aura in the air but concluded that it must stay hidden. _Probably for the best._

Beel sits next to her, his back drooped with his elbow resting on his knee. His head lowers to his hand and he looks out into the garden. She glances over to his features, smiling blissfully, but notices the vacant expression and lack of snacks he's usually consuming.

"Hey," she says softly, trying to lean her face in his line of sight, "is everything alright?"

Beel blinks and looks at MC's face.

"Your hair looks nice," he says bluntly, his eyes rather unchanging.

MC blushes and pushes him playfully, "hey, shut up," she smirks, "c'mon, seriously, you haven't eaten in like, five minutes, I'm worried about you. Looks like you're spacing out, Beel."

He can't help but frown, terrible at hiding his own feelings. He looks away from her to the ground, trying to figure out what he wanted to say first.

"You want to talk about it?" She places her hand gently onto his shoulder. A familiar emotion within him emerges and he straightens up looking back at her. His thoughts are empty now, as he reaches out to her head, pulling her into his chest. Another arm wraps around her and he hugs her tightly.

"I miss her all the time."

She thinks she hears him right and remembers their conversation from a few days ago, before they had left the castle. _His sister_. She brings her hands up to his sides and squeezes him back, "I'm sorry, Beel."

After a brief second, he let's MC go and slouches back to his position, his feet now angle further towards her. His eyes are sad but no tears brim. He speaks, lost in the memories of his sister, "you remind me so much of her," he says, looking to the small flowers that danced out of the stone path, "your smile, your laugh," she feels wells of guilt rolling inside of her as he smiles faintly and continues, "I think my brothers see it too. Sometimes, I think maybe," he trails off, his smile disappearing.

"I think sometimes my brothers wish I saved Lilith instead of Belphie."

MC's heart is heavy as she listens to him, "I don't think they think that, Beel."

He hears the sincerity in her voice and swallows, "when we fell, we didn't leave peacefully."

His words are slow and thoughtful as his expressions grows serious, "we were chased. By friends -- angels that used to be our kin," he pauses, feeling the anguish boil, "one of them passed an arrow right by my head, and when I followed it, I saw it going straight to my brother," he shakes his, his stomach hurting from the memory instead of the hunger, "I looked to my sister but another arrow appeared behind her as well, and I..."

Beelzebub's voice quivers. He throws his hands around his midsection, clutching the sides of his jacket, "I couldn't save both of them. I dove for Belphie. He saw my eyes and I couldn't tear myself away," he clenches his eyes shut. MC, still silently concerned, places her hands on his back and shoulder, trying to console him, at least physically.

"I didn't know what to do," he pushes out, choking on his words and trying to hold back his tears.

MC moves her body closer, wrapping her arms around him. She didn't know what to say. She thought about it carefully, "it's not your fault."

He lurches up, her grasp on him faltering and his eyes connected with hers, his voice desperate for answers, "what would you do? Who would you save?"

She stares back into his eyes, her stomach sinking. _There was no easy answer_. She shocked by forwardness and mumbles softly, stuttering on her words, "I don't know."

The demon brother looks down, the feeling of her hands still warm through his clothes. He feels MC pull away but scoots himself closer to her so that she wouldn't leave his side. He takes one of her hands and holds it in his own, "sorry," he quietly says.

She stays silent, peering at his face.

Her words finally come to her and she squeezes his hand, "you know," she says carefully, her own voice sounding foreign, "I think there's a lot of times in life, when you have to make a choice," an image of her parents flash in her head, "and you aren't sure if it's right or wrong."

Her eyes follow the path into the garden, "but whatever you choose, it's about how you deal with it afterwards," she winces, her life in the human realm coming back to her suddenly, "I guess, what I'm trying to say, is that you shouldn't think about if you could've saved Lilith but instead focus on the family you have around you right now, you know?" She smiles solemnly, the pain of her words weighing in her mind.

Beelzebub senses it and looks to her, "what about your family, MC?"

A soft wind lifts their hair. The smell of fire fills her nose but she knows somehow, it isn't tangeable. She looks past the brother in front of her, over his shoulder, a house in the distance, farther than she could ever reach. A fire roars over the sound of his voice and soon her mind becomes drowned out by the yelling of people around her.

"I," her throat closes up, a sense of dread and fear claims her very soul, her mouth slightly open, feeling dry and painful.

Beelzebub takes her face into his hands and she's back. His magenta eyes piercing through her own.

"Are you okay?"

Is all he asks. She closes her lips, looking back down at the path, "yea," she lies, "haven't talked to my parents in a while so," she trails off trying to calm herself down.

Beelzebub let's his hands fall back down to hers, "thank you for talking to me then, MC."

She lifts her chin back up to Beelzebub's gaze and she feels a sense of relief looking at his sweet smile, even if it was small.

_Maybe I can still have a family..._


	11. Chapter 11

The early morning is greeted with Asmodeus, once again, going through his three hour morning routine. MC squints in the dim light of the room, no windows being able to indicate what time it is. Groaning, she rolls over and clumsily grabs her D. D. D. off of the bedside table.

「6:00」

She frowns. Rolling back over, she pulls the blankets to her face and closes her eyes again. _I need a vacation,_ she thought, trying to drift herself back to sleep. Without warning, the image of Sebastian inside of a burning house flashed in her mind.

MC opens her eyes slowly and her palms feel clammy. She tries to breathe but her lungs are heavy as if she was drowning. She feels hot in her head, but cold everywhere else.

_Why did I..?_

Sitting up, she pushes the thoughts away and decides going back to sleep wasn't going to be an option. Just on cue, Asmodeus opens the bathroom door and slips over to his bed. As he turns for the closet, he smiles and giggles walking past her, ruffling the top of her bedhead. They don't say anything as Simeon is still sleeping, so she takes the opportunity to get into the bathroom without any fussing from the demon.

\---

Asmodeus is back in the bathroom when she's done and for a moment she wonders if he was like this when he still lived with the Father. Slipping her shoes on, MC takes one last look at the angel sleeping soundly in his bed. She smiles leaving the room, the door clicking as it closes. She shakes her, smiling in relief, _he's so kind._

With a turn of the heel, she walks down the hall and towards the kitchen, perhaps hoping she'll bump into Barbatos for breakfast. The kitchen in the castle was beautiful, much like everything else. The stone tiles line the walls, the cupboards and shelves all made of dark wood, and the countertops a granite embedded with red stone accents. She had peaked in once before to see the butler but had never gone too far in.

Finally making it to the entrance, she opens the door slowly, greeting anyone that might possibly be inside. Her eyes set on a small figure standing up on a stool to reach the island's countertop. The other angel, Luke, seemed frozen in surprise, his eyes wide and his hands unmoving from finishing the icing on his cake. She speaks softly first, feeling the awkwardness drift in the air, "am I interrupting you?"

The little angel's senses come back to him and he blushes, looking back down at his baked goods, "no, no! You're okay," he hurriedly continues icing and jumping off the stool to check the oven, the fridge, and MC realizes he's probably not making all of this for himself. The ingredients are strewn about the counters, not particularly messy but she can tell by how fast he's moving that he seems distressed and in a rush. 

"Do you need any help?" She asks walking past the island over to him near the oven, his hands covered by mitts. Caught off guard, he looks up at her not knowing what to say. The ding of the oven catches his attention and he half heartedly replies, "um, sure, if you want."

\---

The smell of the kitchen is heavenly as the two students begin to work their way around the kitchen. Luke brings up some flour and dough to the counter, explaining how she's going to have to knead it. Finishing tying her apron's knot, she nods and works her hands into the dough. Being able to help was refreshing to her, and she hoped that Luke felt less stressed now that he had someone beside him. As she kneads, she sees Luke take another cooled cake over to the counter next to her. He steps up on the stool and begins icing once again; the last cake before moving onto the bread.

MC smiles, "hey, you're really good at that, you know!"

Luke shyly smiles back, "thank you! I've been baking for a long time, about three hundred years."

She jolts, "three hundred years?!"

He yelps, surprised at her reaction, "what! Yes! Of course," he calms back down as he almost drops his piping bag, "sorry, I forget humans don't live for very long so I'm sure that seems a little alarming."

She recoils back to the dough, feeling silly, "yea, we barely make it to a hundred years if we're lucky," she sighs, "I sure wish I was partially immortal sometimes but seeing the brothers every day might drive me insane," she giggles to herself.

Luke wearily answers, "I don't know how you could put up with them. They're so nasty and unpleasant."

"Woah," she says, somewhat shocked by his bluntness, "I get that you don't like Lucifer, who would," she laughs at herself, secretly hoping he didn't somehow hear her, "but I mean, are demon and angel relations really all that bad? You're sounding kind of bigoted over there, buddy," MC looks at his face for his reaction.

His eyes are focused on the cake in front of him, "I can't forgive them. Lucifer made the decision to go against the Father and that's that."

She frowns.

"Do you know what happened," she asked remembering how Beelzebub recounted the events of that fateful day.

"No, but it was bad enough to throw them down to Devildom," he says, grimacing at his cake.

MC feels a pang in her heart as she looks back to her work, "well, maybe they had a reason."

Luke scoffs, grabbing a tool to spread the icing thinner, "a reason to be thrown out of the Celestial Realm? I don't think so," his voice is spiteful as he speaks, "I don't care what they did. If it was that bad than they deserved the wrath of the Father."

Her eyes grow darker under the kitchen lights, "not everyone likes the Father, Luke," she spits, throwing her hands back into the dough.

"Huh?" He turns his head to her.

She straightens her back, "I said, not everyone likes the Father. If I was an angel, I probably wouldn't be up there very long either."

The angel stares at her in confusion, "but you're a human, a non magic using human. Aren't most of you followers of the Father?"

Her tense movements make it hard to focus, and she furrows her brows, "no, some of us don't care much for him." Her mind is fuzzy. The smell of smoke reaches her nose once again and she can't ignore this time. She feels rigid but she continues speaking, "people think the Father is always making the right decisions, but they're wrong," her words come out like poison, "I've known him too," she pauses, the burning house in the reflection of her eye.

"MC?" Luke doesn't try to raise his voice. He can feel her angry energy radiate off of her.

The oven dinged again. _Again_? She lifted her head up and relaxed her hands, realizing she had been gripping the dough too tightly. Luke turns his head to the oven only to realize black smoke was coming out of the seams.

"Ah!" He exclaims and jumps down from his stool, running to the oven mitts to avoid burning himself.

MC hurriedly brushes her hands on her apron and grabs the other set of mitts on the opposite counter. Seeing Luke's frantic face, she takes it on herself hold her breath and open the oven. Smoke billows out and she fans it away, the heat of the oven simmering on her skin. Her eyes squint and burn slightly as she reaches in and pulls out a blackened, forgotten cake.

Luke cries out, "oh no," he yells taking the cake from her hands and placing it on the stove, "I guess I counted wrong and forgot about this one." He frowns looking at the pathetically crispy cake.

MC sighs. Thinking back on her words, perhaps she had been too harsh.

"I'm sorry," she says turning off the oven and walking to over to a small window. Opening it, she fans the air to pull the smoke current out.

Luke looks over to her, shrugging sadly, "it's okay. I," he pauses, "I know not everyone agrees with the Father."

"Like Lucifer?" She harkens.

The angel twists his mouth, "I guess."

Her eyes hover over the window and back to the boy's face, her expression becoming softer.

"I'm sure the same reason you follow him, is the same reason why everyone down here trusts and cares for Lucifer and Lord Diavolo," she watches his eyes lighten, "they're friends and family cast them down without hesitation. I care for them because I know what that's like."

The kitchen's feels lighter as the smoke dissipates. 


	12. Chapter 12

The west Devildom projects were lowly, even for Hell. Younger demons scurry through the dark streets, the purple skies never reaching the bottom of the town. Large stone buildings tower over the demons of the area, suffocating them in a looking sense of dread. Forgotten structures of idyllic monuments and statues wasted on the stone tiles. Plants were scarce, food hard to come by. A demon bites into wandering human soul, the screams of agony echoing through the alleyway. Larger demons fester around a set of stairs leading to the underground bar. A nefarious place of sorts for the city of the west.

The old stone pub made below a retired church. An engraving of an angel's wing and halo above the door, a mocking to the Father above.

Down the stairs and into said bar, the wooden furniture made a circle around the center. A tall, dark and looming figure stands in place, addressing twenty or so comrades.

A built demon with horns kicks his feet up on the table, "fuck this, we should storm the castle," he says throwing his arm over the back of his chair.

A lesser demon, resembling a child springs from their chair, "that's a terrible idea! We need to reclaim the castle with plans three or four, that's the only way!"

A cup is slammed on a table beside them, a man with a dark cloak, his hair spun high into a bun on his head speaks softly in a low growl, "what do you think, Shoku?"

The tall figure in the center turns to map on the wall. Shokujinki adjusts his buttons on the cuffs of his shirt, his eyes staring intently at the map.

He speaks calmly, not turning his gaze, "Hadad," he pauses, "tell me, how long did you say protection spells usually last?"

The man in the black cloak, Hadad, snickers at his words, "it depends. Could be two weeks or two hundred years. Many protection spells must be reinforced, meaning they can't be up at all times."

Shokujinki places a hand under his chin, "they must've put it up before they arrived, meaning it's been," he counts the days on his fingers and turns around to face his crowd, "six days."

The small group rustle about their chairs, waiting for their leader to say more. The lesser demon looks towards the map, thinking intensely, "we know the Little D's and Diavolo's butler were the ones to put up the spell. Perhaps, on the fourteenth day, they'll have to reinforce it and then we'll be able to get inside!"

The built demon pipes up in retort, "fuck waiting around for their schedule, we should use the sorcerer to break the spell and barge in, we have enough fire power."

A succubus raises her voice from behind the bar counter, "and what if it doesn't work? We're gonna run away and lay low for the rest of the year? Think with your head for once, Tengu."

He scoffs, but Hadad, the sorcerer, agrees, "you're tenacity is admired," he says, amused at the demons before him, "perhaps I could break it down in the right lighting."

Shokujinki quirks his brow, "do tell."

"If the butler were to somehow end up outside of the castle grounds, the incantation wouldn't be much of a problem anymore," he picks up his glass smugly and lifts it to his mouth.

A sharp bone pierces across the room, shattering the sorcerer's glass, his shock displayed on his face as he freezes.

"I don't want him dead," Shokujinki says sternly, staring at Hadad.

The room feels tense as the sorcerer puts down what's left of his cup on the table. He chuckles nervously, a drop of sweat running down his forehead, "of course, sir."

The succubus at the bar looks to her leader, "Shoku," she says quietly, trying to grab his attention, "we all want this sooner than later, but I really think we should wait until the time is right."

His gaze doesn't meet hers as he continues staring down the sorcerer, "we'll take the castle tomorrow."

The demons stare at their leader shockingly, all except for Tengu, who thrusts his fists in the air exuberantly, "yes! finally! The sins of the princes pay long past due!"

"Rai," he says, addressing the succubus, "gather as many men you can."

She nods her head, a determined gleam in her eye.

\---

The upstairs church held a small room at the top, a bedroom, humble and laid out neatly aside from the curious blood stains of unknown victims on the floor. Shokujinki ran a hand through his hair, the silence filling the room as he sat on a carelessly built bed. The candlelight striking and shifting through the room, a circular window in front of him, shining the smallest moonlight of Devildom's dreary, yet beauitful sky.

He hears the patter of foot steps up to his door. Before the visitor can knock, he calls to them, "come in."

It's a moment until Hadad slowly creaks the door open and steps into the room, his cloak shining off of the moonlight.

"Shoku," he says urgently in a hushed tone, "forgive me for bothering you so late but I," he looks to the demon, "I wanted to talk to you."

His leader tilts his head, "go on."

"What do you plan on doing," he says looking into his eyes, "when the Father finds out about-"

Shokujinki raises his hand, silencing the young man.

"Need not worry, human," his cast to the ceiling above, "there are many things he doesn't interfere with."

"But," Hadad wants to continue, the sinking feeling in his stomach growing. He was no fool to wrath of the Celestial Realm if they were to take over Devildom _and..._

He stops himself from further questioning. His leader had guided them well already. He stares at the crooked floorboards and continues, "what of the human exchange students?"

"What about them," Shokujinki asks curiously, his head still facing the ceiling and eyes closing in thought.

Hadad licks his dry lips, "you said there was a sorcerer? A woman who summoned the Great Mammon?"

The demon scoffs, "don't call him that," he says offhandedly, "yes, I presume they invited one magic human and one non-magic human for their little program," he opens his eyes, dark but piercing under the candlelight, "I want her alive."

The human swallows, his throat feeling a bit heavy knowing his leader's unquenchable desire for human flesh. Thankful, that he had not fallen victim, "of course."

"She shouldn't be a problem with our numbers, Hadad," he says tenderly, looking in his direction. A smile delicately spreading across his face, _and you shouldn't be either._

The sorcerer nods.

_Tomorrow would be the day they took back the castle._


	13. Chapter 13

Lord Diavolo grazes his hand over a plaque, dust coming off onto his gloved hands. The remnants of an old memory he thought Barbatos had discarded, his eyes fixed on the names.

_Eligos, Saleos, Procell._

He clenches his jaw. An emotion swirls inside him and for a moment, he thinks he will be beside himself. _Regret_?

His hand lifts and places the hefty piece of bronze back on the top of his shelf, faced down in his empty office, to perhaps forget it was there once again.

The future demon king saunters over to his fireplace in use, his hands behind his back as though he were placing himself in restraints, holding his breathe as he hears footsteps to his door.

A click and Barbatos let's himself in, "I beg your pardon, Lord Diavolo," he says holding a clipboard in one hand. To the butler's trained eye, he sees the strain in his master's face.

"Sir, the ballroom dance for the students is tonight," he says, his hand bringing a pen out of his pocket and checking off the miscellaneous activities on his list, "I shall also make proper preparations for the Little Ds to be guarding all outside sectors of the parameter as usual," he pauses, glancing up at his master in front of him, his face still stilted of his smile, "I would ask if you'd join us but I see you're busy."

Lord Diavolo starkly nods, his eyes still fixated in the roaring fire in front of him, "no, my apologies, Barbatos," his tone uncharacteristically low of energy, his nerves lost to the constant passing of time. _Never enough time._ He remembers when there was time to laugh triumphantly and spoil in the great treasures of Devildom with friends and family. But that was a time long past; one to which he couldn't fall back to.

As his butler turns to leave, Lord Diavolo mutters, quiet enough for Barbatos to hear, "wouldn't it grand if you could turn the clocks back?"

Barbatos turns his head slowly, the words almost sounding like a plea, his eyes not quite meeting Lord Diavolo's. He knew in another life, that perhaps he could've done just that. To take every mistake away and turn back the time lost.

_But not in this life._

"Yes," the demon answers back, "I would want nothing more, sir."

\---

MC rummages through the closet, the clothes meshing and twisting with her hands. _Why did Asmodeus have to bring his entire wardrobe,_ she thinks, frustratedly combing through the hangers violently, looking for something formal to wear. 'An elegant formal,' as Simeon put it made her more acutely aware that she didn't have anything remotely elegant or formal when she had barely had the time to pack all her clothes to the castle. With her roommates already on their way to the great hall, she didn't want to be late.

The student throws her hands up into her hair with frustration, the breathe of time breathing down her neck, "argh," she growls looking at her D. D. D.

MC:  
「hey asmo!」

Asmodeus:  
「Yes, sweetheart??? Miss me already? ;)))」

MC:  
「would you mind if i borrowed something for the ballroom dance thing tonight」

Asmodeus:  
「GASP. YOU? WEARING MY CLOTHES? Scandalous! People will talk, darling. ;)))」

MC:  
「...」

Asmodeus:  
「Hehe, just make sure when you give it back, you take it off in front of me. <3 ;)))」

MC:  
「lol you're wild」

\---

In the vastness of the room, Mammon groans at the thought of having to dance with one of his brothers. Aside from being a small get together, Barbatos really did seem determined to tie every brother into dancing with each other, along with all the exchange students. Something about trust and coordination, he was only half paying attention; more intent with figuring out how he was going to smuggle all the jewelry he had stolen throughout the castle once the whole Shokujinki debacle was over. _If it would ever end_ , he thinks warily. Every day felt longer with no word from Lord Diavolo, their king to be. Even Lucifer had barely seen him, _and they were butt buddies_ , the demon thought humorously to himself, smirking and adjusting his tie.

He lifted his wrist and pulled back his sleeve, looking at his fashionably adorned watch.

 _She's late._ Mammon rolls his eyes.

After helping the angel out the day before, the little dog had practically held her hostage until sundown. He tapped his foot and folded his arms. He missed her. The demon knew he enjoyed being with his human and he trusted that she maybe felt the same.

 _She trusts Solomon_.

Another intrusive thoughts yanks on him. Looking over to the crowd of male students, he can see the human sorcerer standing off near Leviathan. He thinks of walking over but he knows what he's going to hear.

He can hear it already. His brothers berating him, the sound of his nicknames bouncing back and forth. _Did Solomon ever have a nickname? Why do I care?_ A sinking feeling in his stomach turns his attention away from them.

 **Click**.

The sound of the massive great hall doors opening meant the last arrival and Mammon anticipated her eagerly.

Stepping through the partially cracked door, MC's face was red with embarrassment. To the threshold, she speaks first, "sorry, I was late."

The Great Mammon feels as though time stops around him. He watches her, in her formal wear, walking towards him, flushed and innocent looking. Like a school boy, the sad, sinking feeling turns to fluttering and he suddenly forgets there's anyone else in the room.

He thinks he's staring at her for what seems to be a millennium but is shook out of his gaze by the hollering of his brothers. MC jumps when she sees Luke cheering at her full speed. The little angel screams her name and reaches to jump into her arms.

Mammon's arm comes swinging out like a wall and grabs him out of reflex, "hey! You can't go around charging MC like that!" He yells as he struggles with the chihuahua.

"He's trying to eat me," Luke screams belligerently, "help, someone, he's gonna eat me!"

MC laughs, almost doubling over. Mammon turns his head to her, letting go of the screaming angel, "what are you laughing about, huh!"

\---

With everything in place, Barbatos steps to the front of the students. His hands fold neatly in front of his chest as he smiles, "if everyone could choose a partner, I will be starting the music in just a moment," Mammon glances to MC, "and remember to have fun," the butler places his hands delicately onto an enchanted record player, the waltz cascading around the hall as if there were speakers all around. MC is surprised when she notices all of the brothers already know how to ballroom dance and she frantically looks around the room for a partner. Taking a step backwards, she feels herself bump into someone, "ah, I'm so sorry," she yelps, turning around to see who it is.

Mammon holds his hand out to her, his entire face turned away out of embarrassment.

"Uh," she stutters looking at his odd gesture, "did you want to dance?"

His face reddens but he finds the courage to give her the side eye, "what do you think, huh?"

She giggles, her nerves softening as they pull together and places his other hand around her waist.

As they took the first steps, it was clear he would have to lead her.

"You dance like you just learned how to walk," he grumbles.

"Shut up," she barks dismissively, "I haven't been alive for thousands of years to learn ballroom dancing like you, old man."

She expects him to say something sarcastic back to her but Mammon only hums as they move around the other students. He wants to enjoy this, but a bubbling feeling of anxiety reaches his chest. MC hadn't noticed, too focused on her footwork but he was staring at her now. His eyes softening, a desperate tug on his heart as he opened his mouth, "MC," he says her name gently.

"Hm?" She looks up.

His face is contorted just slightly, his brows knitted and mouth struggling to get the words out, "I-I," he begins, "I hope you know," the brother wishes he would've just shut himself up, "I hope you know that..."

_I like you._

"We all like you here!"

Her eyes widen in surprise, "Oh! Well," she smiles and blushes bashfully, "well, thank you for saying that, Mammon."

He swallows, ashamed that he couldn't speak his mind. He continues, "and I hope you accept us, ya know, for who we are."

MC tilts her head in confusion, "what do you mean?"

He hates this. Why didn't he just shut up and dance? Why did he feel so nervous?

"We're demons," he says, thinking back to the forest -- the blood, "is that okay with you still?"

Her eyes twinkle. The look in her friend's eye as he speaks, she understands that he's afraid she'll say no. All the weeks of mistrust and recent violence has made him acutely aware of his fallen grace. _Of who he is._

MC smiles, "Of course it's okay with me," she says happily, "you've all been so kind to me. Some demons are definitely not fun," she says exasperated, "but there's good ones too. Just like you."

Mammon is speechless. _Good ones, like you._

The waltz begins its changing of partners, a twirl and step to exchange hands and he doesn't want to let go. _Perhaps a chance to tell her how I-_

"My turn." Solomon's grip pops up from the side and swipes MC for the next dance. She stumbles as they line up again and Mammon is left in shock, his fist immediately flinging up into the air.

"Hey! Don't dance so close together!"


	14. Chapter 14

"Hi, Solomon," she laughs, hearing Mammon scream in the background, "is the cape the only thing you like to wear," MC asks cheekily as they ease their footwork together.

He smiles back to her coolly, "I've heard the ladies really like it."

She chuckles but quickly hushes as the music changes their pace. Faster footwork and the student is already feeling frantic again. MC looks down to the floor, afraid she might step on his feet, following Solomon as he strides across the room.

"Here," he moves at half speed, matching the slower tempo despite all the others pacing around them, "look up at me, you don't have to watch your feet the whole time," he muses.

Her head comes up and she feels a rush of blood to her face.

"You're doing better already," he says, still smirking down at her.

"I guess," she says, slowly feeling out the movements.

They waltz as MC feels confident enough in her footing to speak again, "you're a good teacher, Solomon," she says, surprised at her own words.

"I certainly try."

A thought whispers to her, "you're," she thinks back to their conversation in her room. She knows how he feels but, "you're a good person too!"

He raises his brows at her, "I'm sorry?" He asks, not knowing if he heard her correctly.

Despite her heart beginning to beat faster, she says it again, "you're a good person. I don't know why you think you aren't, but I," she looks away, feeling silly for bringing the subject up at such an odd time, "I just think you're too hard on yourself. You're really talented and smart, and you," she pauses, feeling the sorcerer's hand squeeze her own.

"You're sweet, MC." His smile shines but she's a sadness in his eyes. _What was it_?

"I," she stutters, not knowing how to phrase her intentions. She wants to desperately know what pains him, but maybe they weren't close enough yet. _He seemed so distant_ , even while she stood right in front of him. He moved so elegantly, always thoughtful to her own steps and as MC peered into his eyes, she felt her heart ache.

She wasn't sure if he noticed but in that instant, he takes his hand that holds hers away to bring out an item from his pocket. His other hand still around her waist as they sway, Solomon opens his palm to her.

 _A ring_.

"I want you to have this, MC," he says calmly, looking at the silver shining off of the band.

"Uh," her mind immediately draws a blank, "you kept that dead guy's ring?" She asks plainly.

The sorcerer laughs, taking her hand again while slipping on the ring, "Its a magical ring, MC. Granted, it's not very powerful, but I want you to have it. That way," they resume they're dancing, his eyes catching hers again and his tone lowering, intimate to her ears, "even when I'm not around, you can still have me with you."

She stares at him in awe. Her heart souring in happiness.

"Solomon..."

The music changes and suddenly another hand is held out to MC.

A delicate black glove, trailing to the arm of the eldest brother, Lucifer.

"May I have this dance?"

\---

The brother places his hand to hers, and she feels the ring's weight as the music starts again. A slow rise and fall of violins and wind instruments grace the hall, but MC feels all the more nervous under the slower step of the dance.

 _Lucifer_.

His eyes pierced her. He was a wolf in the night; the first she'd see before being swarmed and eaten by the rest of his pack.

She hadn't spoken a word to him since their arrival and the last time he had said anything, he was chewing her out for destroying the demon brother's home. A sour taste of authority stuck in her mouth as they paced.

"So," he speaks, startling her out of her thoughts, "enjoying your stay?"

She swallows, _perhaps he was trying to be friendly_. The human answers, her tone trying to sound casual, "yes, it's been very educational. Have you?"

"Yes," he drawls out. He's smiling but she can hear the hint of anger in his voice.

"That's good," she responds before he can continue, hoping that it would be the end to their conversation.

"See anything you liked?"

She nervousing laughs, "I mean, sure! The castle is very beautiful, I like it all," she says, not giving much thought to the question.

"Surely, you must've liked one area over another?" He asks once again.

She thinks for a moment, "well," I guess he really wants to know, "I guess I really love the great hall-"

"And what about underground?"

She blinks.

"Underground?"

"Yes," his smile disappears, "in the chambers."

She racks her brain. _What did he mean? Does he know she went to the chambers? Did someone say something? Did Simeon say something?_ She begins to feel hotter as they move.

Lucifer's voice comes quietly and course, "you shouldn't wander where you have no business, MC."

His words now apparent.

She stares back at him with all the intensity she can, not breaking the eye contact. The act was up, but now she could ask her own questions, "how long has it been there?"

The eldest brother's face contorts in a snarl but he doesn't get to yell.

The music stops and MC turns to the record player. Despite expecting to see Barbatos quickly play the next waltz, the music starts on its own again, the butler absent from its side. _How long had he been away?_

A rumble from the front of the castle shakes the great hall.

Everyone falls silent.

Another moment passes.

An explosion blows the doors from the entrance into the hall. Lucifer quickly shifts to his demonic form, his wings spreading widely around MC as he grabs her and shields her from the debris.

Dust and dirt waft and fog the room, the other demon brothers holding their stances as they try to look through the thick layer of sediment kicked up from the explosion.

Shadows is all they can make out at first. The eldest brother pushes MC towards the other students, "Mammon," he yells, "get everyone-"

An arrow.

Cutting through the air, Lucifer barely dodges it as he leaps from his spot, now flying above the figures.

"You're as fast as ever," a deep, boisterous voice calls out from the clearing dust, his form now tangeable.

Shokujinki.

More figures emerge from behind him. Different demons of all heights, their intense aura beating down on MC as she stared in horror. The demon, Tengu, walks through the crowd to the front, pushing a figure down to his knees as he laughs.

Barbatos lifts his head, his face badly beaten. His arms, tied to his back with a spell. The butler grimaces and finds Lucifer's eyes.

"Summon Diavolo."


	15. Chapter 15

A thunderous crash and flash of light fills the great hall. Lucifer, still flying midair, shields his eyes and drops himself to the ground in front of the other students. As the hall become clearer, MC sees the source of the light. Massive wings spread wide across the ballroom; their texture leathery, unlike that of the eldest brother's. _A true demon,_ Solomon remarks, staring at Lord Diavolo in awe.

The few demons on the opposite side, cower in fear. Tengu straightens his back to the future Demon King.

Shokujinki smiles, the light finally fading out, leaving Lord Diavolo standing tall in the center of the two groups. The students can't see his face, but the aura surrounding him radiates a murderous intent.

His golden eyes scan the crowd, zeroing in on his loyal servant, visibly injured. No tears form from his eyes, but a mix of anguish and anger boil underneath. Lord Diavolo has no words to speak this time.

Another clap of thunder, the movement creating a fierce wind behind him, he barrels towards the leader. He grips Shokujinki's body, colliding him into the army of demons, completely dismantling and killing the ones in his path.

Lucifer springs to the air seeing an opening to grab Barabatos. On the ground, the exchange students look on in horror. MC rips off whatever formal wear she felt hindered her movement and runs to Mammon's side. Some of the brothers step forward, their demon forms firing off one after another. Beelzebub runs to Tengu, his roars more reminiscent of an animal than a person. She's surprised when she sees Asmodeus following behind him, his strong aura flowing around him as he runs forwards. Mammon's hand flies out in front of him, "hey, wait," he yells, watching Satan and Leviathan hurl themselves at the demon army. He doesn't want any of this, his eyes widen, mouth agape, wanting to call out to his brothers but they're already throwing their fighting spirit at the opposing side.

With Tengu distracted by Beelzebub, Lucifer dives in and snatches Barbatos. The clashing of powers and auras throw the castle's hall into chaos. The very ceiling above them breaking and cracking under the weight of demonic energy. As the enemies are thrown into walls and columns, the structural integrity of the ballroom breaks and begins to fall and crash around them. Mammon, bracing his emotions, whips around to the exchange students, "come on, I'm taking y'all to safety, let's go!"

The students run off, Mammon following behind, barking at Solomon, telling him which doors to run towards. A huge explosion ruptures the room, a stone pillar coming down between Mammon and the group as they run into the center wing's hall doors. The huge gust of the crash sends them flying across the hall and hitting them hard against the floor near the open courtyard.

MC can barely manage to grasp what had happened. Face down on the floor, she lifts her head up slowly, the dust and impact making it hard to heave herself up. At first, she hears nothing, time slower than usual; the open, center hall barely visible through the debris. A wet sensation drops to her arms and she looks down. Blood, spilling out from what she had realized was her cheek. She shakingly touches the damage with the back of her hand, feeling out what seemed to be a gash. _Something that needed stitches but nothing unmanageable._ The noises seep back into her ears finally as her head clears.

 _Mammon_.

She pushes herself up, her legs feeling weak from the rush of adrenaline. The dust begins to kick down more and she can see the angels. Simeon places his hands on Luke's shoulders, as if he were his mother. She can't hear his words, but the smaller angel's arms are raised to his face, his form shaking. "Simeon," she calls out, limping towards them.

The older angel looks up, his face changing to relief, "MC," he says back, extending his hand to her. She gets close enough to take it, and he squeezes her palm in reassurance despite seeing the wound on her face, "are you okay?"

She nods hesitantly, "where's Mammon? And-"

A rustle of rocks and steps startle them all to turn towards the fallen pillar.

The sorcerer holds his side, his bruised rib now most definitely broken as he struggles to take quick breathes in. MC runs to him, bracing him by the arms, "Solomon, holy shit, are you okay?" She looks at him frantically, seeing the damage he had taken from the fall.

Still holding his ribs, he let's himself lean onto her slightly, "I tried grabbing that idiot but he had already stopped running behind us before I realized it," he gripes, gritting his teeth through the pain.

Luke, curling his hands into fists, desperately speaks up from behind them, "we're gonna die if we stay here! We have to leave!"

Simeon nods to him, shushing him of his distress, "it's alright, Luke, we'll be leaving right now."

MC turns to the older angel, Solomon's arm now around her shoulder as she helps him walk. He winces but speaks, "if we keep walking down the main hall to the back of the castle, we can get to a town below."

In thought, she looks to the ground, "what about... everyone else," she asks quietly, tilting her head up to Simeon.

Solomon begins to say something but out of the corner of her eye, she sees a shadow shift from the courtyard's benches.

 _A man_. His hair tied up into a bun and a cape, eerily similar to Solomon's, sways in the light wind of the open space. With his somewhat normal physical appearance, she thinks he might be human.

"Well," Hadad drawls. She can see the faint glow surrounding his hands. _An incantation_ , she thinks, waiting for his next move.

"You're the sorcerer, aren't you?" He says, gesturing his hands towards the two. Her eyebrow twitches as she glances up to Solomon and back to the other sorcerer, but his eyes are fixed into hers.

"My master told me of your power," he cocks his head to the side, grinning smugly, "he would love to meet you."

She furrows her brows, about to curse obscenities until Solomon steps into the conversation from beside her, "she's not a sorcerer," the human lifts his arm away from MC and takes a step towards the mysterious man, his other hand no longer grasping his side.

Hadad laughs humorously, "oh, really? Calling my leader a liar, then?"

Solomon's composure stays calm as he answers, "I'm saying you were merely ill informed. I was the one that lent her the power to summon her pact demon."

The other sorcerer crosses his arms, shaking his head back and forth, "yea, right," he smiles again, looking up to Solomon's eyes, "you really think you could trick me?"

"Ask the angels."

Hadad blinks, his eyes shifting to the other exchange students. _Those were the angels, huh?_ He thinks to himself.

"They're terrible liars. Ask them," Solomon says again, his eyes stone cold and void as he looks on at Hadad.

The man motions to them. Simeon, although nervous, tells him, "it's true. At our discussion, he said he gave her a fraction of his power to summon Mammon."

MC looks on but she can't ignore her hammering heart. She has to do something if things get out of hand. _Solomon is smart,_ she reassures herself. _He can get us through this. But if he can't..._

Hadad chuckles, looking back to the sorcerer, "how cordial of you to give yourself up like this. I thought for sure you were bluffing," his sentence trails off. Before Solomon can answer, Hadad flings an orange tinted beam from his hand, catching the two angels. Their bodies stiffen as their hands bind with an incantation.

"Simeon!" MC screams out, before leaping behind a column to dodge another spell aimed for her. A sharp ting from it hitting the walls turns her adrenaline up again and another ting closer to the courtyard makes her look out from cover.

Solomon, seemingly swatted away the spell, his own hand up in a dark, purplish hue. Hadad grins mischievously, "don't won't any cuffs, huh," he says, his hands still by his side, "how about this? If you just join our side, I won't drag you by the hair for being a hassle, hm?"

MC looks at Solomon, his face barely visible as he's turned to the other sorcerer. She can see his mouth turn at the corners, his smile. _The one he makes all the time,_ she thinks _, the one he makes when he knows what to do._

"You've certainly showcased your power," the human says, "joining you would only mean being on the winning team."

Simeon is shocked. Luke yells, hands still bound in front of him, "Solomon, no!"

MC doesn't realize her sweat drip from her brow. _No_ , she thinks to herself, _he's got a plan._

 _I trust him_. _Getting in on the other side will make it easier to get any information from Shokujinki, especially if he can convince them he's on their side._ Her eyes look over to the angels, _but what about them...? He can't take them with him_.

Hadad claps his hands together, "perfect," he exclaims, "I was ordered not to kill any of you, so this is certainly a pleasant surprise."

With Solomon on the enemy's side, this could be her chance to summon Mammon before the sorcerer could take Simeon and Luke. As she hides behind the pillar, she balls her fists, thinking of the voice she heard once before.

A murmur on the wind, a feeling swelling within her as she closes her eyes.

"But," Hadad points his finger up inquisitively, "I was never told new recruits couldn't kill anyone."

Her focus snaps, her eyes flying open and back to Solomon. _No_ , she turns around again, struggling against her mind, _I have to concentrate!_ Her fingers curling around her palms, the weight of the ring feeling heavy on her.

Solomon pauses. His smile replaced with a grim look as he turns his head back towards the angels.

"Think of it as a hazing," the other sorcerer says, watching the back of his kin's head.

Simeon bores his eyes into to his friend.

The sorcerer's face, shadowed, looks through the angel. _His brother_ , it's all he can think about hearing the pleas of Luke as he looks on. _All the pacts, all of the time spent waiting for the right moment, for the right excuse_ , and now, this was his moment.

 _Nathan_.

He raises his palm to Simeon, a glowing aura whipping around, coming from the end.

MC squeezes her eyes shut in the moment and screams to the skies,

" ** _MAMMONー!_** "


	16. Chapter 16

Silence falls on the courtyard. Solomon snaps from his trance and stiffens, awaiting the thunderous sound of a summoned demon. Hadad braces himself, his nerves becoming heightened. He was, after all, _still human_ , he thought, remembering the last novice that had encountered this girl's pact demon.

MC huffs, opening her eyes. Her head feeling light as she listens for... anything. The silence grows more deafening and she can feel her heart sink into her stomach.

_Oh no._

She looks back down at her hands, sweating profusely, the sound of her beating chest drumming in her ears.

_What? What did I do? Why isn't he here?_

Hadad straightens his back, looking for any sign of a summoning. His eyes glancing all around the courtyard.

Solomon's hand doesn't back down but he side eyes MC, forgetting she was there, too focused on his own inner dialogue. _Idiot_ , he thinks, staring at her shaking from behind the column, now recoiled and bent over holding herself.

She thinks she's going to throw up. Her plan hadn't worked at all and she slowly moved her eyes to Solomon's, searching for an answer.

Suddenly, a huge booming of rock being ripped through from the hall disrupts her thoughts. Beel's monstrous roars bellow into the courtyard. Hadad looks in fear as he hears the demon, and frantically pulls the angels towards him, out of the way of the now sprinting demon holding Tengu by the midsection. As they run past, MC braces for the wind to sweep by her. Beelzebub's massive strength lifts the large demon from his feet and slams him back into the ground.

As he beats him senseless, Hadad motions to Solomon, lifting himself into the air effortlessly with his magic, "we have to go, this isn't our job," he says, referring to Tengu struggling to get a fist to connect.

Solomon turns to leave, but the shouting of a familiar demon makes him turn his head.

All he sees is a flash of gold before hearing the impact on Hadad's face.

"Ah, fuck!" He exclaims, falling onto his legs to the ground, along with what appeared to be a credit card. He grabs his face, his eye punctured from the card striking him. The brief moment springs Simeon into action, as he takes Luke's hands and runs towards Mammon, now in his demonic form.

Hadad frustratingly throws a destructive incantation towards the two but misses, hitting the hall's ceiling above. The floor caves, and Mammon grabs MC, pushing her out of the way. The stone ceiling pieces catch the smaller angel, his legs victim to a large stone that sticks him to the ground. Simeon manages to avoid getting stuck, and grabs Luke's hands once more, they're incantation spell broken from Hadad's withered focus from keeping it strong.

"Hold on, Luke, we got you," he says assuredly. The sound of demons breaking through causes the students heads to turn, the fight drawing closer towards the courtyard. _The time to go was now._

Beelzebub stands from his rage induced fit and sees his friends, bringing him back to reality. _Luke was stuck under the rocks._

He runs to help but another explosion knocks him back, along with the others.

Lucifer flies into the hall, his arms still cradling Barbatos. The other brothers are rushing behind him. MC looks to them and gasps. Satan and Asmodeus struggle to run with both of Diavolo's arms around their shoulders. His head sways slightly and she grits her teeth, _if he's knocked out, we have no fucking chance._

"Head towards the center wing!" Lucifer yells from the air, the army of demonic forces trailing close behind.

Leviathan catches up to the students and grabs Simeon, running him towards their destination, "wait," he raises his voice, trying to stop the demon, "Luke is back there!"

Mammon hears the thunderous footsteps and takes MC by the waist, but she pulls free, "we have to get Luke!" He scoffs, but his eyes are wide with panic. The demon says nothing as he turns to the rocks. Satan and Asmodeus make their way to the both of them as they intersect near the fallen debris. The blonde brother calls to Mammon, "we got to go, hurry!"

Beelzebub runs up to them, Luke just in his sight as he watching MC trying to lift the rocks from his legs.

She doesn't notice Hadad still eyeing them as he throws another destruction spell. The glowing orange light whips through the air and snags Mammon's shoulder, the blood spraying across the floor. MC, still holding onto Luke, screams out to her friend. The mix of desperate cries and death drawing closer is all she can hear.

She suddenly feels arms wrap around her tightly. Beelzebub rips her from her feet and throws her onto his shoulder. Mammon turns on his foot and sprints down with them.

Time feels slower, she realizes, looking at the hallway and courtyard, now in utter destruction. Simeon had pushed out of Leviathan's arms, running to Mammon, trying to see where the younger angel was.

They both see Solomon step to where she was struggling with Luke and she feels a great sense of relief seeing him. _The plan was falling into place. Solomon and Luke would be their spies on the inside._

  
A bright, purple light fills her vision.

  
Solomon's hand is raised. The faint glow of the light emanating from his palm.

  
Luke's head has fallen to the ground. His body collapsed under the rocks.

  
_There was never enough time._

Mammon turns to look at the sorcerer.

_I trust him._

Her own words seeth into her skull.

_There was no plan._

Simeon screams.

**_"I like that you look at me like I'm a good person."_ **

A faint glimmer and brilliant, white feathers burst from Luke's body, flying up into the sky, as if back into the heavens and all she can see is Solomon's eyes. The same, feral look he had given to Simeon. The same look she saw in the chambers. As Beelzebub turns the corner, Solomon catches her gaze. She hears Mammon struggle to keep Simeon moving, and the doors close.

\---

Lucifer sets Barbatos down in the center wing of the castle, body still weak from the beating. A large circle splays around the room, something Diavolo had done on purpose in almost every major part of his home. _Another portal._

Barbatos, eyes still partially swollen, glances around to make sure everyone was inside.

Lucifer does the honors and recites the words to circle.

A loud boom and the familiar feeling of falling rushes back into their bodies.

MC stares into the space, hoping it's all a dream. That she'll wake up and she'll see Solomon standing there with her, having just finished their dance. Luke clapping and trying to run her way again, now with the bread she had helped him make.

The tears flood her vision and their feet hit the ground again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn. what up.
> 
> Thank you for reading Part Two of my ongoing Obey Me series! Happy to say that I've already outlined all of Parts 3, 4, & 5, yeehaw. I'm so so proud of this piece and I love y'all for sticking to it's really fucked up ending, lmao.
> 
> Part Three OUT! and is guaranteed to have levity! And lots of questions answered! Gasp!


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